216,588 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 English books during the 20th century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Jesus5 BC-30 · 1st century · Religious Figures30
  2. 2Aristotle384 BC-322 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics7.1
  3. 3Plato428 BC-348 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics7.1
  4. 4Homer900 BC-800 BC · 1st millennium BC · Writers7.1
  5. 5Augustus63 BC-14 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians4.9
  6. 6Johns Hopkins1795-1873 · 19th century · United States · Founders4.4
  7. 7Cicero106 BC-43 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Politicians4.0
  8. 8George Washington1732-1799 · 18th century · United States · Politicians3.8
  9. 9Socrates470 BC-399 BC · 1st millennium BC · Brazil · Academics3.4
  10. 10Virgil70 BC-19 BC · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers3.3
  11. 11Abraham Lincoln1809-1865 · 19th century · United States · Politicians2.0
  12. 12Euclid333 BC-285 BC · 1st millennium BC · Academics1.9
  13. 13Thomas Jefferson1743-1826 · 18th century · United States · Politicians1.6
  14. 14Ovid43 BC-17 · 1st millennium BC · Italy · Writers1.6
  15. 15Mark Twain1835-1910 · 19th century · United States · Writers1.5
  16. 16Plutarch40-120 · 1st century · Academics1.5
  17. 17Cleopatra69 BC-30 BC · 1st millennium BC · Egypt · Historical Figures1.4
  18. 18Theodore Roosevelt1858-1919 · 19th century · United States · Politicians1.4
  19. 19Woodrow Wilson1856-1924 · 19th century · United States · Politicians1.4
  20. 20William Henry1774-1836 · 19th century · Scientists1.3
  21. 21Benjamin Franklin1706-1790 · 18th century · United States · Politicians1.3
  22. 22Herodotus484 BC-425 BC · 1st millennium BC · Turkey · Writers1.3
  23. 23Charlemagne748-814 · 8th century · Historical Figures1.3
  24. 24Rembrandt1606-1669 · 17th century · Netherlands · Artists1.3
  25. 25Euripides480 BC-406 BC · 1st millennium BC · Writers1.2
Show 75 more

Lived then

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

  1. 1Hirohito1901-1989 · Japan · Historical Figures10 decades
  2. 2Isoroku Yamamoto1884-1943 · Japan · Historical Figures3 decades
  3. 3Emperor Taishō1879-1926 · Japan · Historical Figures0 decades
  4. 4Junko Tabei1939-2016 · Japan · Historical Figures0 decades
  5. 5Empress Masakoborn 1963 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  6. 6Chūichi Nagumo1887-1944 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  7. 7Kōjun1903-2000 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  8. 8Masahito, Prince Hitachiborn 1935 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  9. 9Empress Teimei1884-1951 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  10. 10Prince Tomohito of Mikasa1946-2012 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  11. 11Hisako, Princess Takamadoborn 1953 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  12. 12Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu1902-1953 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  13. 13Norihito, Prince Takamado1954-2002 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  14. 14Hanako, Princess Hitachiborn 1940 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  15. 15Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu1905-1987 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  16. 16Takako Shimazuborn 1939 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  17. 17Yoshihito, Prince Katsura1948-2014 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  18. 18Shigeko Higashikuni1925-1961 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  19. 19Atsuko Ikedaborn 1931 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  20. 20Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu1911-2004 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  21. 21Naomi Uemura1941-1984 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  22. 22Kazuko Takatsukasa1929-1989 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  23. 23Yasuko Konoeborn 1944 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  24. 24Princess Nobuko Asaka1891-1933 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  25. 25Princess Masako Takeda1888-1940 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  26. 26Masako Senborn 1951 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  27. 27Fusako Kitashirakawa1890-1974 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  28. 28Huisheng1938-1957 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  29. 29Ekai Kawaguchi1866-1945 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  30. 30Keizo Miura1904-2006 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  31. 31Princess Ayako Takeda1913-2003 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  32. 32Tsuneo Hasegawa1947-1991 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  33. 33Yoshiharu Sekinoborn 1949 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  34. 34Sano Tsuneha1871-1956 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  35. 35Bunkyō Aoki1886-1956 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  36. 36Michizane Kujo1870-1933 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  37. 37Katakura Kenkichi1870-1941 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot measured-
  38. 38Zuicho Tachibana1890-1968 · Japan · Historical Figuresnot 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.