215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time1900-1999

The 20th century

Whose names filled the books of the 20th century - anyone at all, however long dead - counted as mentions per million words printed, so a period that simply published more does not inflate anyone.

Talked about then

Whose names appeared most in Hebrew books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Rav Ashi352-427 · 4th century16
  2. 2Ahad Ha'am1856-1927 · 19th century · Russia · Writers12
  3. 3Haggaiborn 550 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures12
  4. 4Sabbatai Zevi1626-1676 · 17th century · Turkey · Religious Figures8.2
  5. 5Saadia Gaon882-942 · 10th century · Academics8.1
  6. 6Johanan ben Zakai50 BC-70 · 1st millennium BC5.5
  7. 7Josephus37-100 · 1st century · Writers5.5
  8. 8Habakkuk626 BC-600 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures5.3
  9. 9Hai Gaon939-1038 · 10th century · Writers4.8
  10. 10Simeon ben Gamliel IIborn 100 · 2nd century4.8
  11. 11Menachem Begin1913-1992 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians4.4
  12. 12Nathan the Babylonianborn 101 · 2nd century3.8
  13. 13Shimon Peres1923-2016 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.6
  14. 14Paul the Apostle5-66 · 1st century · Turkey · Writers3.3
  15. 15Samuel ibn Naghrillah993-1055 · 11th century · Writers3.2
  16. 16Moshe Dayan1915-1981 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians3.2
  17. 17Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg1150-1217 · 12th century · Academics3.1
  18. 18Hillel the Elder50 BC-100 · 1st millennium BC3.1
  19. 19Simeon ben Zomadied 200 · 2nd century2.8
  20. 20Judas Maccabeus500 BC-160 BC · 1st millennium BC · Religious Figures2.7
  21. 21Yitzhak Rabin1922-1995 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.7
  22. 22Golda Meir1898-1978 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.6
  23. 23Yanaiborn 600 · 7th century · Writers2.5
  24. 24Moshe Sharett1894-1965 · 20th century · Israel · Politicians2.2
  25. 25Isaac Abrabanel1437-1508 · 15th century · Academics2.1
Show 75 more

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 20th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1Yukio Mishima1925-1970 · Japan · Writers6 decades
  2. 2Haruki Murakamiborn 1949 · Japan · Writers2 decades
  3. 3Shigeru Miyamotoborn 1952 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  4. 4Hiroo Onoda1922-2014 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  5. 5Osamu Dazai1909-1948 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  6. 6Ryūnosuke Akutagawa1892-1927 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  7. 7Shōkō Asahara1955-2018 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  8. 8Yasunari Kawabata1899-1972 · Japan · Writers1 decades
  9. 9Ryū Murakami1952-2026 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  10. 10Kenzaburō Ōe1935-2023 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  11. 11Natsume Sōseki1867-1916 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  12. 12Rumiko Takahashiborn 1957 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  13. 13Kōbō Abe1924-1993 · Japan · Writers0 decades
  14. 14Banana Yoshimotoborn 1964 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  15. 15Gosho Aoyamaborn 1963 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  16. 16Shūsaku Endō1923-1996 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  17. 17Junji Itōborn 1963 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  18. 18Tadamichi Kuribayashi1891-1945 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  19. 19Mas Oyama1923-1994 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  20. 20Masaoka Shiki1867-1902 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  21. 21Kazuki Takahashi1961-2022 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  22. 22Jun'ichirō Tanizaki1886-1965 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  23. 23Edogawa Ranpo1894-1965 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  24. 24Tsugumi Ohbaborn 1950 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
  25. 25Daisaku Ikeda1928-2023 · Japan · Writersnot measured-
Show 75 more

How to read these rankings

  • Attention, not reputation. A place on these lists reflects the attention a person still draws in the public record. It is not a judgement on the life.
  • Fame in print. The curves show how often a name appeared in the books of each decade from 1800 to 2019, drawn from the Google Books Ngram corpus.
  • Gaps are left as gaps. Where the record is too thin to be fair, we would rather show nothing than guess.