← 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
Charles de Gaulle9 decades - 2
Nicolas Sarkozy5 decades - 3
Jacques Chirac8 decades - 4
François Mitterrand8 decades - 5
François Hollande4 decades - 6
Jean-Marie Le Pen8 decades - 7
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing8 decades - 8
Dominique de Villepin3 decades - 9
Georges Pompidou8 decades - 10
Christine Lagarde2 decades - 11
Simone Veil6 decades - 12
Lionel Jospin6 decades - 13
François Bayrou5 decades - 14
Jean-Bédel Bokassa6 decades - 15
Ségolène Royal5 decades - 16
Élisabeth Borne0 decades - 17
Léon Blum13 decades - 18
Pierre Laval11 decades - 19
Léopold Sédar Senghor8 decades - 20
Michel Barnier5 decades - 21
Jean-Luc Mélenchon1 decades - 22
Anne Hidalgo2 decades - 23
François Fillon4 decades - 24
Salome Zourabichvili0 decades - 25
Albert Lebrun11 decades - 26
Robert Schuman10 decades - 27
René Coty10 decades - 28
Bernard Cazeneuve3 decades - 29
Robert Badinternot measured- - 30
Omar Bongo5 decades - 31
Laurent Fabius6 decades - 32
Édith Cresson4 decades - 33
Paul Claudel12 decades - 34
Alain Juppé5 decades - 35
Jean-Marc Ayrault4 decades - 36
Ismail Omar Guelleh0 decades - 37
Bidzina Ivanishvili0 decades - 38
Éric Zemmournot measured- - 39
Michel Rocardnot measured- - 40
François Asselineaunot measured- - 41
Alain Pohernot measured- - 42
Jean Moulinnot measured- - 43
Étienne Gnassingbé Eyadéma5 decades - 44
Jean-Louis Borloonot measured- - 45
Raymond Barrenot measured- - 46
Bernadette Chiracnot measured- - 47
Jacques Chaban-Delmasnot measured- - 48
Pierre Bérégovoynot measured- - 49
Martine Aubrynot measured- - 50
Édouard Balladurnot measured- - 51
Félix Houphouët-Boigny6 decades - 52
Jack Langnot measured- - 53
Édouard Daladier9 decades - 54
Theodor Eickenot measured- - 55
Henri Giraudnot measured- - 56
Ingrid Betancourtnot measured- - 57
Thierry Bretonnot measured- - 58
Maurice Paponnot measured- - 59
Paul Reynaudnot measured- - 60
Vincent Auriol11 decades - 61
Michèle Alliot-Marienot measured- - 62
Pierre Moscovicinot measured- - 63
Bernard Tapienot measured- - 64
Philippe de Gaullenot measured- - 65
Maxime Weygandnot measured- - 66
Marie Pierre Kœnignot measured- - 67
Nicolas Dupont-Aignannot measured- - 68
René Plevennot measured- - 69
Gisèle Haliminot measured- - 70
Pierre Mendès Francenot measured- - 71
Claudie Haignerénot measured- - 72
Inessa Armandnot measured- - 73
Philippe de Villiersnot measured- - 74
Luc Ferrynot measured- - 75
Michel Debrénot measured- - 76
Jean-François Copénot measured- - 77
Jean-Pierre Raffarin3 decades - 78
Bruno Retailleaunot measured- - 79
Pierre Messmernot measured- - 80
Maurice Thoreznot measured- - 81
Georges Bidaultnot measured- - 82
Jean Lassallenot measured- - 83
Roselyne Bachelotnot measured- - 84
Gérard Larchernot measured- - 85
Serge Dassaultnot measured- - 86
Shadhli ibn Jadidnot measured- - 87
Henri, Count of Parisnot measured- - 88
Arnaud Montebourgnot measured- - 89
Édouard Herriot11 decades - 90
Christian Estrosinot measured- - 91
José Bovénot measured- - 92
Pierre Mauroy7 decades - 93
Cécilia Attiasnot measured- - 94
Alphonse Juinnot measured- - 95
Frédéric Mitterrandnot measured- - 96
Christiane Taubiranot measured- - 97
James Goldsmithnot measured- - 98
Prince Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parmanot measured- - 99
Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massynot measured- - 100
Éric Dupond-Morettinot 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.