← 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
Toshiro Mifune5 decades - 2
Ken Watanabe0 decades - 3
Hiroyuki Sanadanot measured- - 4
Tatsuya Nakadainot measured- - 5
Momoko Kōchinot measured- - 6
Sonny Chibanot measured- - 7
Sessue Hayakawanot measured- - 8
Setsuko Haranot measured- - 9
Yasuhiro Yamashitanot measured- - 10
Miyoshi Umekinot measured- - 11
Sada Abenot measured- - 12
Makonot measured- - 13
Takashi Shimuranot measured- - 14
Sadaharu Ohnot measured- - 15
Ken Takakuranot measured- - 16
Shintarō Katsunot measured- - 17Ko Yong-huinot measured-
- 18
Hiroshi Abenot measured- - 19
Eiji Aonumanot measured- - 20
Meiko Kajinot measured- - 21
Kōichi Yamaderanot measured- - 22
Akio Ōtsukanot measured- - 23
Yuriko, Princess Mikasanot measured- - 24
Chieko Baishōnot measured- - 25
Tetsuko Kuroyanaginot measured- - 26
Machiko Kyōnot measured- - 27
Mayumi Tanakanot measured- - 28
Tōru Furuyanot measured- - 29
Akiko Wakabayashinot measured- - 30
Kōji Yakushonot measured- - 31
Mie Hamanot measured- - 32
Shigeo Nagashimanot measured- - 33
Masako Nozawanot measured- - 34
Keiko Kishinot measured- - 35
Noriko Hidakanot measured- - 36
Chishū Ryūnot measured- - 37Keiji Fujiwaranot measured-
- 38
Kirin Kikinot measured- - 39
Kyōko Kagawanot measured- - 40
Kinuyo Tanakanot measured- - 41Emi Shinoharanot measured-
- 42
Akira Emotonot measured- - 43Noriko Oharanot measured-
- 44
Akira Teraonot measured- - 45
Yoshiko Kuganot measured- - 46
Kenyu Horiuchinot measured- - 47
Kaori Momoinot measured- - 48
Sho Kosuginot measured- - 49
Toshiko Fujitanot measured- - 50
Akira Takaradanot measured- - 51
Yōko Shimadanot measured- - 52Yusaku Matsudanot measured-
- 53
Sayuri Yoshinaganot measured- - 54
Norio Wakamotonot measured- - 55Hiromi Tsurunot measured-
- 56
Rikiya Koyamanot measured- - 57
Ryūsei Nakaonot measured- - 58
Iva Toguri D'Aquinonot measured- - 59Atsuko Tanakanot measured-
- 60
Hōchū Ōtsukanot measured- - 61
Kiyoshi Atsuminot measured- - 62
Toshio Furukawanot measured- - 63
Tōru Iwataninot measured- - 64
Daisuke Gōrinot measured- - 65
Haruo Nakajimanot measured- - 66
Chikao Ōtsukanot measured- - 67
Jirō Ononot measured- - 68
Kaoru Yachigusanot measured- - 69
Rentarō Mikuninot measured- - 70
Tetsurō Tambanot measured- - 71
Ichirō Nagainot measured- - 72
Mari Iijimanot measured- - 73
Ken Ogatanot measured- - 74
Sumi Shimamotonot measured- - 75
Etsuko Ichiharanot measured- - 76Unshō Ishizukanot measured-
- 77
Ichikawa Raizō VIIInot measured- - 78Kumiko Okaenot measured-
- 79
Yūjirō Ishiharanot measured- - 80
Hiroaki Hiratanot measured- - 81Toshihiko Sekinot measured-
- 82
Hiroshi Fujiokanot measured- - 83
Nobuyo Ōyamanot measured- - 84
Tsutomu Yamazakinot measured- - 85Tarakonot measured-
- 86
Ren Ōsuginot measured- - 87
Chikage Awashimanot measured- - 88
Jōji Nakatanot measured- - 89
Isuzu Yamadanot measured- - 90
Akira Kamiyanot measured- - 91
Yūko Tanakanot measured- - 92
Naoya Uchidanot measured- - 93
Masaya Onosakanot measured- - 94
Banjō Ginganot measured- - 95
Kazuo Hasegawanot measured- - 96
Toshiyuki Nishidanot measured- - 97
Mika Kanainot measured- - 98
Rika Fukaminot measured- - 99
Ayako Wakaonot measured- - 100
Shigeru Chibanot 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.