← 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 English books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.
- 1
Jesus30 - 2
Aristotle7.1 - 3
Plato7.1 - 4
Homer7.1 - 5
Augustus4.9 - 6
Johns Hopkins4.4 - 7
Cicero4.0 - 8
George Washington3.8 - 9
Socrates3.4 - 10
Virgil3.3 - 11
Abraham Lincoln2.0 - 12
Euclid1.9 - 13
Thomas Jefferson1.6 - 14
Ovid1.6 - 15
Mark Twain1.5 - 16
Plutarch1.5 - 17
Cleopatra1.4 - 18
Theodore Roosevelt1.4 - 19
Woodrow Wilson1.4 - 20
William Henry1.3 - 21
Benjamin Franklin1.3 - 22
Herodotus1.3 - 23
Charlemagne1.3 - 24
Rembrandt1.3 - 25
Euripides1.2
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 20th century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Bảo Đại1 decades - 2
Alexandra David-Néelnot measured- - 3
Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmarknot measured- - 4
Amélie of Orléansnot measured- - 5
Princess Hélène of Orléansnot measured- - 6
Princess Louise of Orléansnot measured- - 7
Jean-Michel Cousteaunot measured- - 8
Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmarknot measured- - 9
Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléansnot measured- - 10
Princess Isabelle d’Orléansnot measured- - 11
Caroline Lacroixnot measured- - 12
Paul Pelliotnot measured- - 13
Philippe Cousteaunot measured- - 14
Princess Claude d’Orléansnot measured- - 15
Princess Maria Letizia, Duchess of Aostanot measured- - 16
Princess Louise, Princess Alfons of Bavarianot measured- - 17
Princess Irina Pavlovna Paleynot measured- - 18
Ferdinand d'Orléans, Duke of Montpensiernot measured- - 19Prince François d’Orléansnot measured-
- 20
Duchess Marie Thérèse of Württembergnot measured- - 21
Simone Melchior Cousteaunot measured- - 22
Jean-Louis Etiennenot measured- - 23
Princess Marie Françoise of Parmanot measured- - 24
Princess Marie, Princess Gundakar of Liechtensteinnot measured- - 25
Marcel Ichacnot measured- - 26
Emmanuelle de Dampierrenot measured- - 27Jean Couzynot measured-
- 28
Henri Lhotenot measured- - 29
Albert Falconot measured- - 30
Émile Gentilnot measured- - 31Dominick Arduinnot measured-
- 32
Guy de Larigaudienot measured- - 33
Norbert Casteretnot measured- - 34
Patrice Franceschinot measured- - 35
Alix, Princess Napoléonnot measured- - 36
Francis Joyonnot measured- - 37
Raymond Maufraisnot measured- - 38
Tatiana Radziwiłłnot measured- - 39
Octavie Coudreaunot measured- - 40
Countess Maria Carolina Zamoyskanot measured- - 41Benoît Chamouxnot measured-
- 42Hélène de Portesnot measured-
- 43
Georges Houotnot measured- - 44
Michel Vieuchangenot measured- - 45
Jacques Bacotnot measured- - 46François de Cossé-Brissacnot measured-
- 47Philippe Diolénot measured-
- 48Robert Hottotnot measured-
- 49
Édouard Le Danoisnot measured- - 50
Robert Sexénot measured- - 51
Raymond Rallier du Batynot measured- - 52
Aldebert de Chambrunnot measured- - 53
Henri de Gramontnot measured- - 54
René de Segonzacnot measured- - 55Henri Maitrenot measured-
- 56
Georges Estiennenot measured- - 57
Bertrand Flornoynot measured- - 58
Casimir Maistrenot measured- - 59
Henri Marie Gustave d'Ollonenot measured- - 60
Roger de Dampierrenot measured- - 61
Corisande de Gramontnot measured- - 62Georges Manginnot measured-
- 63
Luiz Gastão de Orléans-Bragançanot measured- - 64
Claudius Madrollenot measured- - 65Aimée Fournier de Horracknot measured-
- 66Jules Rouchnot measured-
- 67Maurice Neveu-Lemairenot measured-
- 68Albert Bordeauxnot measured-
- 69Princess Catherine Napoléonnot measured-
- 70Princess Laure Napoléonnot measured-
- 71Henri de Portesnot measured-
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.