← 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
Sanae Takaichi0 decades - 2
Alberto Fujimori4 decades - 3
Hideki Tojo7 decades - 4
Shigeru Ishiba0 decades - 5
Fumio Kishida0 decades - 6
Yoshihide Suga0 decades - 7
Shinzō Abe0 decades - 8
Junichiro Koizumi2 decades - 9
Tarō Asō0 decades - 10
Yoshihiko Noda0 decades - 11
Ryutaro Hashimoto2 decades - 12
Yukio Hatoyama0 decades - 13
Naoto Kan0 decades - 14
Noboru Takeshitanot measured- - 15
Zenkō Suzukinot measured- - 16
Chiune Sugiharanot measured- - 17
Fumimaro Konoenot measured- - 18
Eisaku Satō0 decades - 19
Toshiki Kaifu1 decades - 20
Tsutomu Hata1 decades - 21
Yasuo Fukuda1 decades - 22
Nobusuke Kishi3 decades - 23
Shintarō Ishiharanot measured- - 24
Yasuhiro Nakasone4 decades - 25
Shigeru Yoshida5 decades - 26
Yuriko Koikenot measured- - 27
Masayoshi Ōhiranot measured- - 28
Yoshirō Mori0 decades - 29
Kakuei Tanaka3 decades - 30
Tomiichi Murayama1 decades - 31
Takeo Fukudanot measured- - 32
Morihiro Hosokawanot measured- - 33
Kiichi Miyazawa4 decades - 34
Taro Kononot measured- - 35
Keizō Obuchinot measured- - 36
Inejirō Asanumanot measured- - 37
Kantarō Suzukinot measured- - 38
Naruhiko Higashikuninot measured- - 39
Yoshimasa Hayashinot measured- - 40
Hayato Ikedanot measured- - 41
Takeo Mikinot measured- - 42
Toshimitsu Moteginot measured- - 43
Kōki Hirotanot measured- - 44
Mamoru Shigemitsunot measured- - 45
Kuniaki Koisonot measured- - 46
Ichirō Hatoyamanot measured- - 47
Mitsumasa Yonainot measured- - 48
Yukio Edanonot measured- - 49
Seishirō Itagakinot measured- - 50
Yōsuke Matsuokanot measured- - 51
Ichirō Ozawanot measured- - 52
Kijūrō Shideharanot measured- - 53
Sadako Ogatanot measured- - 54
Tomomi Inadanot measured- - 55
Sōsuke Unonot measured- - 56
Mikio Aokinot measured- - 57
Sadao Arakinot measured- - 58
Seiko Hashimotonot measured- - 59
Katsuya Okadanot measured- - 60
Hiranuma Kiichirōnot measured- - 61
Sadakazu Tanigakinot measured- - 62
Shunroku Hatanot measured- - 63
Tanzan Ishibashinot measured- - 64
Keisuke Okadanot measured- - 65
Yōko Kamikawanot measured- - 66
Minoru Gendanot measured- - 67
Nobuyuki Abenot measured- - 68
Hamaguchi Osachinot measured- - 69
Shintarō Abenot measured- - 70
Korechika Anaminot measured- - 71
Tomoko Akanenot measured- - 72
Tetsu Katayamanot measured- - 73
Hajime Sugiyamanot measured- - 74
Shōichi Nakagawanot measured- - 75
Senjūrō Hayashinot measured- - 76
Toshikatsu Matsuokanot measured- - 77
Seiji Maeharanot measured- - 78
Seiko Nodanot measured- - 79
Wakatsuki Reijirōnot measured- - 80
Yōhei Kōnonot measured- - 81
Chiang Wei-kuonot measured- - 82
Hisaichi Terauchinot measured- - 83
Takeshi Iwayanot measured- - 84
Yōichi Masuzoenot measured- - 85
Hiroshi Ōshimanot measured- - 86
Hitoshi Ashidanot measured- - 87
Shigenori Tōgōnot measured- - 88
Nobuo Kishinot measured- - 89
Mizuho Fukushimanot measured- - 90
Yasuhiko Asakanot measured- - 91
Hisashi Owadanot measured- - 92
Itsunori Onoderanot measured- - 93
Katsunobu Katonot measured- - 94
Takeaki Matsumotonot measured- - 95
Takako Doinot measured- - 96
Kōichirō Genbanot measured- - 97
Satsuki Katayamanot measured- - 98
Kan'in Kotohitonot measured- - 99
Hirofumi Nakasonenot measured- - 100
Kōichi Kidonot 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.