← 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
Thomas Mann8.5 - 2
Max Weber4.4 - 3
Novalis3.9 - 4
Karl Marx3.2 - 5
Jean Paul2.9 - 6
Martin Luther2.7 - 7
Adolf Hitler2.6 - 8
Richard Wagner2.1 - 9
Sigmund Freud2.0 - 10
Heinrich Heine1.9 - 11
Willy Brandt1.9 - 12
Walter Benjamin1.9 - 13
Paracelsus1.9 - 14
Friedrich Nietzsche1.9 - 15
Helmut Kohl1.8 - 16
Gerhard Schröder1.8 - 17
Hannah Arendt1.7 - 18
Immanuel Kant1.7 - 19
Jürgen Habermas1.7 - 20
Maria Theresa1.6 - 21
Heinrich Mann1.6 - 22
Carl Schmitt1.5 - 23
Bertolt Brecht1.5 - 24
Angela Merkel1.5 - 25
Franz Kafka1.4
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
Donald Trump336.3M - 2
Elizabeth II223.3M - 3
Cristiano Ronaldo211.6M - 4
Elon Musk207.7M - 5
Lionel Messi178.6M - 6
Vladimir Putin136.2M - 7
Joe Biden124M - 8
Freddie Mercury122.9M - 9
Jeffrey Dahmer120.3M - 10Adolf Hitler118.7M
- 11
Taylor Swift117.8M - 12
Barack Obama115.9M - 13
Michael Jackson114.4M - 14
Pablo Escobar114.4M - 15
Kamala Harris113.6M - 16
Dwayne Johnson111M - 17
Queen Victorianot measured105.6M - 18
Keanu Reeves103.4M - 19
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh102.1M - 20
Elvis Presley99.6M - 21
Tom Cruise99.4M - 22
LeBron James99.2M - 23
Jeffrey Epstein98.7M - 24
Michael Jordan98.4M - 25
Ariana Grande98M
Lived then
The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 21st century, ranked where coverage and readership agree.
- 1
Melania Trump1 decades - 2
Kylie Jenner0 decades - 3
Ivanka Trump1 decades - 4
Kendall Jenner0 decades - 5
Heidi Klum2 decades - 6
Gisele Bündchen0 decades - 7
Brooke Shields4 decades - 8
Cindy Crawford3 decades - 9
Gigi Hadid0 decades - 10
Irina Shayk0 decades - 11
Bella Hadid0 decades - 12
Cara Delevingne0 decades - 13
Miranda Kerr0 decades - 14
Kate Upton0 decades - 15
Naomi Campbell3 decades - 16
Tiffany Trump0 decades - 17
Kourtney Kardashian0 decades - 18
Hailey Biebernot measured- - 19
Kate Moss3 decades - 20
Adriana Lima0 decades - 21
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley0 decades - 22
Claudia Schiffer3 decades - 23
Emily Ratajkowski0 decades - 24
Elsa Pataky2 decades - 25
Dita Von Teese0 decades - 26
Natalia Vodianova1 decades - 27
Linda Evangelista0 decades - 28
Kaia Gerbernot measured- - 29
Waris Dirie0 decades - 30
Candice Swanepoel0 decades - 31
Karlie Kloss0 decades - 32
Dia Mirza0 decades - 33
Barbara Palvinnot measured- - 34
Alessandra Ambrosio0 decades - 35
Olivia Culpo0 decades - 36
Hero Fiennes Tiffinnot measured- - 37
Lee Jong-suknot measured- - 38
Bar Refaelinot measured- - 39
Brooklyn Decker0 decades - 40
Jung Ho-yeonnot measured- - 41
Paris Jacksonnot measured- - 42
Suki Waterhousenot measured- - 43
Doutzen Kroes0 decades - 44
Georgina Rodrígueznot measured- - 45
Izabella Scorupco0 decades - 46
Behati Prinsloonot measured- - 47
Amber Valletta0 decades - 48
Helena Christensennot measured- - 49
Valeria Golinonot measured- - 50
Paulina Porizkovanot measured- - 51
Holly Madisonnot measured- - 52
Victoria Silvstedt0 decades - 53
Barbie Ferreiranot measured- - 54
Christy Turlingtonnot measured- - 55
Anna Chapmannot measured- - 56
Stephanie Seymournot measured- - 57
Chrissy Teigennot measured- - 58
Angélica Riveranot measured- - 59
Amber Rosenot measured- - 60
Nina Agdalnot measured- - 61
Gemma Wardnot measured- - 62
Angelababynot measured- - 63
Kendra Wilkinsonnot measured- - 64
Elisabetta Canalisnot measured- - 65
Ashley Grahamnot measured- - 66
Karen Muldernot measured- - 67
Heather Millsnot measured- - 68
Karan Singh Grovernot measured- - 69
Shin Min-anot measured- - 70
Stella Maxwellnot measured- - 71
Lily Aldridgenot measured- - 72
Sobhita Dhulipalanot measured- - 73
Diana Pentynot measured- - 74
Demi-Leigh Nel-Petersnot measured- - 75
Marisa Millernot measured- - 76
Iris Mittenaerenot measured- - 77
Lily Colenot measured- - 78
Sara Sampaionot measured- - 79
Byeon Woo-seoknot measured- - 80
Sasha Lussnot measured- - 81
Marlene Favelanot measured- - 82
Chanel Imannot measured- - 83
Joanna Krupanot measured- - 84Reeva Steenkampnot measured-
- 85
Adrianne Currynot measured- - 86
Isabeli Fontananot measured- - 87
Tatjana Patitznot measured- - 88
Elsa Hosknot measured- - 89
Count Nikolai of Monpezatnot measured- - 90
Winnie Harlownot measured- - 91
Eva Herzigová0 decades - 92
Liu Wennot measured- - 93
Harnaaz Sandhunot measured- - 94
Anna Falchinot measured- - 95
Josie Marannot measured- - 96
Lisa Marienot measured- - 97
Sheynnis Palaciosnot measured- - 98
Lara Stonenot measured- - 99
Shalom Harlownot measured- - 100
Frida Gustavssonnot 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.