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 Russian books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Leo Tolstoy1828-1910 · 19th century · Russia · Writers2.6
  2. 2Patriarch Nikon of Moscow1605-1681 · 17th century · Religious Figures2.2
  3. 3Peter the Great1672-1725 · 18th century · Russia · Politicians1.8
  4. 4Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow1482-1563 · 16th century · Writers1.5
  5. 5Boris Godunov1552-1605 · 16th century · Politicians1.4
  6. 6Vladimir Lenin1870-1924 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians1.4
  7. 7Nicholas I of Russia1796-1855 · 19th century · Russia · Models1.3
  8. 8Ivan the Terrible1530-1584 · 16th century · Politicians1.1
  9. 9Alexander I of Russia1777-1825 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures1.1
  10. 10Alexander II of Russia1818-1881 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.99
  11. 11Nicholas II of Russia1868-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.99
  12. 12Maxim Gorky1868-1936 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.98
  13. 13Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia1904-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.97
  14. 14Ivan I of Tver1357-1425 · 14th century · Historical Figures0.92
  15. 15Alexis of Russia1629-1676 · 17th century · Historical Figures0.86
  16. 16Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia1832-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.86
  17. 17Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia1690-1718 · 18th century · Politicians0.78
  18. 18Andrei Bely1880-1934 · 20th century · Russia · Writers0.74
  19. 19Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia1847-1909 · 19th century · Russia · Politicians0.72
  20. 20Sergo Ordzhonikidze1886-1937 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians0.72
  21. 21Ivan I Aleksandrovich, Prince of Smolenskdied 1359 · 14th century0.72
  22. 22Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia1899-1918 · 20th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.70
  23. 23Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia1827-1892 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.65
  24. 24Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia1864-1931 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.64
  25. 25Alexander III of Russia1845-1894 · 19th century · Russia · Historical Figures0.63
Show 75 more

Lived then

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

  1. 1John van 't Schipborn 1963 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  2. 2Frank Yallopborn 1964 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  3. 3Fio Maravilhaborn 1945 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  4. 4Bob Lenarduzziborn 1955 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  5. 5Carl Valentineborn 1958 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  6. 6Colin Millerborn 1964 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  7. 7Dale Mitchellborn 1958 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  8. 8Randy Samuelborn 1963 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  9. 9Mike Sweeneyborn 1959 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  10. 10Bruce Wilsonborn 1951 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  11. 11Paul Jamesborn 1963 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  12. 12Tino Lettieriborn 1957 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  13. 13George Orton1873-1958 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  14. 14Ian Bridgeborn 1959 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  15. 15Gerry Grayborn 1961 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  16. 16David Normanborn 1962 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  17. 17Terry Mooreborn 1958 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  18. 18Jack Brandborn 1953 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  19. 19John Gourlay1872-1949 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  20. 20George Pakosborn 1952 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  21. 21Pierre Bourgault1934-2003 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  22. 22Brian Budd1952-2008 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  23. 23Glen Ennisborn 1964 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  24. 24Pasquale de Lucaborn 1962 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
  25. 25Mike Stojanović1947-2010 · Canada · Footballersnot measured-
Show 50 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.