← 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 Chinese books during the 21st century, whenever they lived.
- 1
Mao Zedong114 - 2
Deng Xiaoping61 - 3
Lu Xun36 - 4
Jiang Zemin36 - 5
Hu Jintao30 - 6
Zhou Enlai26 - 7
Confucius19 - 8
Sun Yat-sen18 - 9
Chen Shui-bian13 - 10
Liu Shaoqi13 - 11
Xi Jinping12 - 12
Laozi11 - 13
Lee Teng-hui10.0 - 14
Lee Kuan Yew8.8 - 15
Ma Ying-jeou8.5 - 16
Wen Jiabao8.1 - 17
Lin Biao5.7 - 18
Zhu De4.9 - 19
Yuan Shikai4.6 - 20
Jiang Qing4.0 - 21
Zhuang Zhou3.9 - 22Gao Ming3.6
- 23
Kang Youwei3.6 - 24
Chiang Ching-kuo2.9 - 25
Yan Fu2.8
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 - 10
Adolf 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.
- 1LeBron James2 decades
- 2
Kobe Bryant2 decades - 3
Shaquille O'Neal3 decades - 4
Stephen Curry1 decades - 5
Kevin Durant1 decades - 6
Giannis Antetokounmpo0 decades - 7
Luka Dončićnot measured- - 8
Tim Duncan2 decades - 9
Yao Ming4 decades - 10
Russell Westbrook0 decades - 11
Chris Paul0 decades - 12
Allen Iverson2 decades - 13
Nikola Jokićnot measured- - 14
Dwyane Wade1 decades - 15
James Harden0 decades - 16
Carmelo Anthony1 decades - 17
Derrick Rose0 decades - 18
Kyrie Irving0 decades - 19
Dirk Nowitzki2 decades - 20
Tony Parker2 decades - 21
Scottie Pippen3 decades - 22
Klay Thompson0 decades - 23
Steve Nash2 decades - 24
Kawhi Leonard0 decades - 25Shai Gilgeous-Alexandernot measured-
- 26
Anthony Davisnot measured- - 27
Blake Griffin0 decades - 28
Kevin Garnett2 decades - 29
Brittney Griner0 decades - 30
Dwight Howard0 decades - 31
Victor Wembanyamanot measured- - 32
Jeremy Lin1 decades - 33
Damian Lillard0 decades - 34
Pau Gasol2 decades - 35
Lamar Odom0 decades - 36
Jimmy Butlernot measured- - 37
Reggie Miller2 decades - 38
Jayson Tatumnot measured- - 39
Devin Bookernot measured- - 40
Karl-Anthony Townsnot measured- - 41
Paul Georgenot measured- - 42
Tracy McGrady0 decades - 43
Draymond Green0 decades - 44
David Robinsonnot measured- - 45
Vince Carter1 decades - 46
Kevin Love0 decades - 47
Jason Kidd1 decades - 48
Dikembe Mutombo0 decades - 49
Ray Allennot measured- - 50
Manu Ginóbili0 decades - 51
Chauncey Billups0 decades - 52
Paul Piercenot measured- - 53
Steve Kerrnot measured- - 54
Ja Morantnot measured- - 55
Enes Kanter Freedomnot measured- - 56
Metta Sandiford-Artestnot measured- - 57
Chris Bosh0 decades - 58
Caitlin Clarknot measured- - 59
Dennis Schrödernot measured- - 60
Jalen Brunsonnot measured- - 61
Rajon Rondo0 decades - 62
Tyrese Haliburtonnot measured- - 63
Jaylen Brownnot measured- - 64
Jrue Holidaynot measured- - 65
Joel Embiidnot measured- - 66
Bam Adebayonot measured- - 67
DeMar DeRozannot measured- - 68
Amar'e Stoudemirenot measured- - 69
Muggsy Boguesnot measured- - 70
Lonzo Ballnot measured- - 71
Donovan Mitchellnot measured- - 72
Rudy Gobertnot measured- - 73
Peja Stojakovićnot measured- - 74
Gilbert Arenas0 decades - 75
Diana Taurasinot measured- - 76
Sue Birdnot measured- - 77
Ben Simmonsnot measured- - 78
Joakim Noah0 decades - 79
Ben Wallacenot measured- - 80
LaMelo Ballnot measured- - 81
Toni Kukočnot measured- - 82
Ricky Rubio0 decades - 83
Vlade Divac0 decades - 84
Marc Gasol0 decades - 85
Serge Ibakanot measured- - 86
Andrew Wigginsnot measured- - 87
Rui Hachimuranot measured- - 88
Trae Youngnot measured- - 89
Tiago Splitternot measured- - 90
Isaiah Thomasnot measured- - 91
Andrei Kirilenkonot measured- - 92
Greg Odennot measured- - 93
Candace Parkernot measured- - 94
Luol Deng0 decades - 95
Steven Adamsnot measured- - 96
Jamal Murraynot measured- - 97
Nicolas Batumnot measured- - 98
Brandon Ingramnot measured- - 99
Hidayet Türkoğlunot measured- - 100
Jason Collinsnot 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.