215,950 profiles ranked

← Fame through time2000-2099

The 21st century

Whose names filled the books of the 21st 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 German books during the 21st century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Thomas Mann1875-1955 · 20th century · United States · Writers8.5
  2. 2Max Weber1864-1920 · 19th century · Germany · Academics4.4
  3. 3Novalis1772-1801 · 19th century · Germany · Writers3.9
  4. 4Karl Marx1818-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Academics3.2
  5. 5Jean Paul1763-1825 · 18th century · Germany · Writers2.9
  6. 6Martin Luther1483-1546 · 16th century · Germany · Religious Figures2.7
  7. 7Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians2.6
  8. 8Richard Wagner1813-1883 · 19th century · Germany · Musicians2.1
  9. 9Sigmund Freud1856-1939 · 19th century · Austria · Doctors2.0
  10. 10Heinrich Heine1797-1856 · 19th century · France · Writers1.9
  11. 11Willy Brandt1913-1992 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.9
  12. 12Walter Benjamin1892-1940 · 20th century · Academics1.9
  13. 13Paracelsus1493-1541 · 16th century · Switzerland · Doctors1.9
  14. 14Friedrich Nietzsche1844-1900 · 19th century · Germany · Academics1.9
  15. 15Helmut Kohl1930-2017 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.8
  16. 16Gerhard Schröderborn 1944 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.8
  17. 17Hannah Arendt1906-1975 · 20th century · United States · Academics1.7
  18. 18Immanuel Kant1724-1804 · 18th century · Academics1.7
  19. 19Jürgen Habermas1929-2026 · 20th century · Germany · Academics1.7
  20. 20Maria Theresa1717-1780 · 18th century · Austria · Historical Figures1.6
  21. 21Heinrich Mann1871-1950 · 20th century · Germany · Writers1.6
  22. 22Carl Schmitt1888-1985 · 20th century · Germany · Academics1.5
  23. 23Bertolt Brecht1898-1956 · 20th century · Austria · Writers1.5
  24. 24Angela Merkelborn 1954 · 20th century · Germany · Politicians1.5
  25. 25Franz Kafka1883-1924 · 20th century · Czechia · Writers1.4
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Most read

Who people actually looked up in the 21st century, across every language edition we measure (2015-2026 only - readership is measured from July 2015).

  1. 1Donald Trumpborn 1946 · 20th century · United States · Politicians336.3M
  2. 2Elizabeth II1926-2022 · 20th century · United Kingdom · Historical Figures223.3M
  3. 3Cristiano Ronaldoborn 1985 · 21st century · Portugal · Footballers211.6M
  4. 4Elon Muskborn 1971 · 21st century · South Africa · Founders207.7M
  5. 5Lionel Messiborn 1987 · 21st century · Argentina · Footballers178.6M
  6. 6Vladimir Putinborn 1952 · 20th century · Russia · Politicians136.2M
  7. 7Joe Bidenborn 1942 · 20th century · United States · Politicians124M
  8. 8Freddie Mercury1946-1991 · 20th century · United Kingdom · Musicians122.9M
  9. 9Jeffrey Dahmer1960-1994 · 20th century · United States · Historical Figures120.3M
  10. 10Adolf Hitler1889-1945 · 20th century · Austria · Politicians118.7M
  11. 11Taylor Swiftborn 1989 · 21st century · United States · Musicians117.8M
  12. 12Barack Obamaborn 1961 · 20th century · United States · Politicians115.9M
  13. 13Michael Jackson1958-2009 · 20th century · United States · Musicians114.4M
  14. 14Pablo Escobar1949-1993 · 20th century · Colombia · Politicians114.4M
  15. 15Kamala Harrisborn 1964 · 20th century · United States · Politicians113.6M
  16. 16Dwayne Johnsonborn 1972 · 21st century · Canada · Actors111M
  17. 17Queen Victoria1819-1901 · 19th century · United Kingdom · Historical Figuresnot measured105.6M
  18. 18Keanu Reevesborn 1964 · 20th century · Canada · Actors103.4M
  19. 19Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh1921-2021 · 20th century · United Kingdom102.1M
  20. 20Elvis Presley1935-1977 · 20th century · United States · Musicians99.6M
  21. 21Tom Cruiseborn 1962 · 20th century · United States · Actors99.4M
  22. 22LeBron Jamesborn 1984 · 21st century · United States · Basketball Players99.2M
  23. 23Jeffrey Epstein1953-2019 · 20th century · United States98.7M
  24. 24Michael Jordanborn 1963 · 20th century · United States · Basketball Players98.4M
  25. 25Ariana Grandeborn 1993 · 21st century · United States · Musicians98M
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Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 21st century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.

  1. 1LeBron Jamesborn 1984 · United States · Basketball Players2 decades
  2. 2Kobe Bryant1978-2020 · United States · Basketball Players2 decades
  3. 3Shaquille O'Nealborn 1972 · United States · Basketball Players3 decades
  4. 4Stephen Curryborn 1988 · United States · Basketball Players1 decades
  5. 5Kevin Durantborn 1988 · United States · Basketball Players1 decades
  6. 6Giannis Antetokounmpoborn 1994 · Greece · Basketball Players0 decades
  7. 7Luka Dončićborn 1999 · Slovenia · Basketball Playersnot measured-
  8. 8Tim Duncanborn 1976 · United States · Basketball Players2 decades
  9. 9Yao Mingborn 1980 · China · Basketball Players4 decades
  10. 10Russell Westbrookborn 1988 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  11. 11Chris Paulborn 1985 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  12. 12Allen Iversonborn 1975 · United States · Basketball Players2 decades
  13. 13Nikola Jokićborn 1995 · Serbia · Basketball Playersnot measured-
  14. 14Dwyane Wadeborn 1982 · United States · Basketball Players1 decades
  15. 15James Hardenborn 1989 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  16. 16Carmelo Anthonyborn 1984 · United States · Basketball Players1 decades
  17. 17Derrick Roseborn 1988 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  18. 18Kyrie Irvingborn 1992 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  19. 19Dirk Nowitzkiborn 1978 · Germany · Basketball Players2 decades
  20. 20Tony Parkerborn 1982 · France · Basketball Players2 decades
  21. 21Scottie Pippenborn 1965 · United States · Basketball Players3 decades
  22. 22Klay Thompsonborn 1990 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  23. 23Steve Nashborn 1974 · Canada · Basketball Players2 decades
  24. 24Kawhi Leonardborn 1991 · United States · Basketball Players0 decades
  25. 25Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderborn 1998 · Canada · Basketball Playersnot measured-
Show 75 more

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.