216,588 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 Spanish books during the 21st century, whenever they lived.

  1. 1Fidel Castro1926-2016 · 20th century · Cuba · Politicians4.1
  2. 2Lope de Vega1562-1635 · 16th century · Spain · Writers4.1
  3. 3Francis Xavier1506-1552 · 16th century · Spain · Religious Figures4.0
  4. 4Simón Bolívar1783-1830 · 19th century · Spain · Politicians3.3
  5. 5Octavio Paz1914-1998 · 20th century · Mexico · Writers3.1
  6. 6John of God1495-1550 · 16th century · Portugal2.9
  7. 7Vicente Foxborn 1942 · 20th century · Mexico · Politicians2.8
  8. 8Benito Juárez1806-1872 · 19th century · Mexico · Politicians2.7
  9. 9Porfirio Díaz1830-1915 · 19th century · Mexico · Politicians2.6
  10. 10Rubén Darío1867-1916 · 20th century · Nicaragua · Writers2.5
  11. 11Andrés Bello1781-1865 · 19th century · Chile · Politicians2.4
  12. 12Hugo Chávez1954-2013 · 20th century · Venezuela · Politicians2.1
  13. 13Antonio Machado1875-1939 · 20th century · Spain · Writers2.0
  14. 14Miguel de Cervantes1547-1616 · 16th century · Spain · Writers2.0
  15. 15Christopher Columbus1451-1506 · 15th century · Italy · Historical Figures1.9
  16. 16Jorge Luis Borges1899-1986 · 20th century · Argentina · Writers1.9
  17. 17Pablo Neruda1904-1973 · 20th century · Chile · Writers1.8
  18. 18Hernán Cortés1485-1547 · 16th century · Spain · Historical Figures1.8
  19. 19Juan Ramón Jiménez1881-1958 · 20th century · Spain · Writers1.7
  20. 20Federico García Lorca1898-1936 · 20th century · Spain · Writers1.6
  21. 21Carlos Fuentes1928-2012 · 20th century · Mexico · Writers1.5
  22. 22Felipe Gonzálezborn 1942 · 20th century · Spain · Politicians1.5
  23. 23Che Guevara1928-1967 · 20th century · Cuba · Activists1.5
  24. 24Salvador Allende1908-1973 · 20th century · Chile · Politicians1.3
  25. 25Miguel de Unamuno1864-1936 · 19th century · Spain · Writers1.3
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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
Show 75 more

Lived then

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

  1. 1Lamine Yamalborn 2007 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  2. 2Pep Guardiolaborn 1971 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  3. 3Xabi Alonsoborn 1981 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  4. 4Gerard Piquéborn 1987 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  5. 5Sergio Ramosborn 1986 · Spain · Footballers4 decades
  6. 6James Rodríguezborn 1991 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  7. 7Luis Enriqueborn 1970 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  8. 8Achraf Hakimiborn 1998 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  9. 9Ferran Torresborn 2000 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  10. 10Mikel Artetaborn 1982 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  11. 11Rodriborn 1996 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  12. 12Samuel Eto'oborn 1981 · Spain · Footballers2 decades
  13. 13Cesc Fàbregasborn 1987 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  14. 14Fernando Torresborn 1984 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  15. 15Xavi Hernándezborn 1980 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  16. 16Álvaro Arbeloaborn 1983 · Spain · Footballers0 decades
  17. 17Andrés Iniestaborn 1984 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  18. 18Álvaro Morataborn 1992 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  19. 19Iker Casillasborn 1981 · Spain · Footballers1 decades
  20. 20Marc Cucurellaborn 1998 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  21. 21Mikel Merinoborn 1996 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  22. 22Nico Williamsborn 2002 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  23. 23Pedriborn 2002 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  24. 24Mikel Oyarzabalborn 1997 · Spain · Footballersnot measured-
  25. 25David de Geaborn 1990 · Spain · Footballersnot 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.