← 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 English books during the 21st century, whenever they lived.
- 1
Jesus102 - 2
Aristotle13 - 3
Plato11 - 4
Socrates6.5 - 5
Homer5.4 - 6
Cicero4.2 - 7
Augustus4.1 - 8
Johns Hopkins4.0 - 9
Virgil3.3 - 10
George Washington3.0 - 11
George W. Bush2.2 - 12
Ovid2.2 - 13
Plutarch1.9 - 14
Thomas Jefferson1.9 - 15
Cleopatra1.9 - 16
Abraham Lincoln1.9 - 17
Galen1.8 - 18
Saddam Hussein1.7 - 19
Ronald Reagan1.7 - 20
Herodotus1.6 - 21
Origen1.5 - 22
John the Baptist1.5 - 23
Bill Clinton1.5 - 24
Adam Smith1.4 - 25
Mark Twain1.4
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 - 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.
- 1
Miranda Kerr0 decades - 2
Gemma Wardnot measured- - 3
Abbey Leenot measured- - 4
Catriona Graynot measured- - 5
Andreja Pejićnot measured- - 6
Jennifer Hawkinsnot measured- - 7
Megan Galenot measured- - 8
Emma Boothnot measured- - 9
Adut Akechnot measured- - 10
Jessica Gomesnot measured- - 11
Shanina Shaiknot measured- - 12
Sarah Murdochnot measured- - 13
Nicole Trunfionot measured- - 14
Laura Dundovicnot measured- - 15
Duckie Thotnot measured- - 16Ninibeth Lealnot measured-
- 17
Catherine McNeilnot measured- - 18
Jordan Barrettnot measured- - 19
Robyn Lawleynot measured- - 20
Annalise Braakensieknot measured- - 21
Jesinta Campbellnot measured- - 22
Rachael Finchnot measured- - 23
Lara Worthingtonnot measured- - 24
Charlee Frasernot measured- - 25
Jessica Hartnot measured- - 26James Sorensennot measured-
- 27
Renae Ayrisnot measured- - 28Monique Rileynot measured-
- 29Bridget Malcolmnot measured-
- 30Emily Scottnot measured-
- 31
Montana Coxnot measured- - 32Scherri-Lee Biggsnot measured-
- 33
Sarah Stephensnot measured- - 34Joey Meadnot measured-
- 35
Laura Csortannot measured- - 36
Kristy Hinzenot measured- - 37
Nick Youngquestnot measured- - 38
Francesca Hungnot measured- - 39Sabrina Houssaminot measured-
- 40
Jessica Kahawatynot measured- - 41Moraya Wilsonnot measured-
- 42
Olivia Wellsnot measured- - 43Kirsten Davidsonnot measured-
- 44
Alice Burdeunot measured- - 45Daria Varlamovanot measured-
- 46
April Rose Pengillynot measured- - 47
Rebecca Juddnot measured- - 48
Claire Elizabeth Parkernot measured- - 49Maria Thattilnot measured-
- 50
Annie Knightnot measured- - 51Leah Haltonnot measured-
- 52
Tegan Martinnot measured- - 53
Lindy Rama-Ellisnot measured- - 54
Anna Rawsonnot measured- - 55
Cheyenne Tozzinot measured- - 56Blair Norfolknot 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.