← 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
Steve Nash2 decades - 2Shai Gilgeous-Alexandernot measured-
- 3
Andrew Wigginsnot measured- - 4
Jamal Murraynot measured- - 5
Tristan Thompsonnot measured- - 6
Rick Foxnot measured- - 7
Kelly Olynyknot measured- - 8
Anthony Bennettnot measured- - 9
Brandon Clarkenot measured- - 10
Dillon Brooksnot measured- - 11
Luguentz Dortnot measured- - 12
Nickeil Alexander-Walkernot measured- - 13
RJ Barrettnot measured- - 14
Dwight Powellnot measured- - 15
Zach Edeynot measured- - 16
Cory Josephnot measured- - 17
Bennedict Mathurinnot measured- - 18
Shaedon Sharpenot measured- - 19
Joel Anthonynot measured- - 20
Andrew Nembhardnot measured- - 21
Jamaal Magloirenot measured- - 22
Nik Stauskasnot measured- - 23
Samuel Dalembertnot measured- - 24
Sim Bhullarnot measured- - 25
Khem Birchnot measured- - 26Joshua Primonot measured-
- 27Ryan Nembhardnot measured-
- 28
Mfiondu Kabengelenot measured- - 29
Tyler Ennisnot measured- - 30
Kia Nursenot measured- - 31
A.J. Lawsonnot measured- - 32
Naz Mitrou-Longnot measured- - 33
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Ignas Brazdeikisnot measured- - 34
Kevin Pangosnot measured- - 35
Marial Shayoknot measured- - 36
Oshae Brissettnot measured- - 37
Andrew Nicholsonnot measured- - 38Leonard Millernot measured-
- 39
Dalano Bantonnot measured- - 40
Aaliyah Edwardsnot measured- - 41
Olivier-Maxence Prospernot measured- - 42
Olivier Hanlannot measured- - 43
Bridget Carletonnot measured- - 44
Natalie Achonwanot measured- - 45
Todd MacCullochnot measured- - 46
Kyle Alexandernot measured- - 47
Xavier Rathan-Mayesnot measured- - 48
Caleb Houstannot measured- - 49
Caleb Agadanot measured- - 50
Emanuel Millernot measured- - 51
Philip Scrubbnot measured- - 52
Stefan Jankovićnot measured- - 53
Dyshawn Pierrenot measured- - 54
Melvin Ejimnot measured- - 55
Mychal Muldernot measured- - 56
Conor Morgannot measured- - 57
Carl Englishnot measured- - 58
Thomas Scrubbnot measured- - 59
Kris Josephnot measured- - 60
Lindell Wiggintonnot measured- - 61
Isiaha Mikenot measured- - 62
Trae Bell-Haynesnot measured- - 63
Marcus Carrnot measured- - 64
Nate Darlingnot measured- - 65
Stacey Dalesnot measured- - 66
Kayla Alexandernot measured- - 67
Aaron Doornekampnot measured- - 68
Charles Bediakonot measured- - 69
Brady Heslipnot measured- - 70Jermaine Andersonnot measured-
- 71
Laeticia Amiherenot measured- - 72
Levon Kendallnot measured- - 73
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwenot measured- - 74
Kassius Robertsonnot measured- - 75Tammy Sutton-Brownnot measured-
- 76Denham Brownnot measured-
- 77
Rowan Barrettnot measured- - 78
Olu Famutiminot measured- - 79
Nirra Fieldsnot measured- - 80Jermaine Bucknornot measured-
- 81Jackson Rowenot measured-
- 82
Katherine Plouffenot measured- - 83Kyle Landrynot measured-
- 84William Njokunot measured-
- 85
Jordan Bachynskinot measured- - 86
Sherman Hamiltonnot measured- - 87
Kaza Kajami-Keanenot measured- - 88
Olivier Riouxnot measured- - 89
Jesse Youngnot measured- - 90
Aher Uguaknot measured- - 91
Shawn Swordsnot measured- - 92Tyler Kepkaynot measured-
- 93Owen Klassennot measured-
- 94
Tamara Tathamnot measured- - 95
Sami Hillnot measured- - 96Devoe Josephnot measured-
- 97
Will Rileynot measured- - 98
Ruth Hamblinnot measured- - 99
Kenny Cherynot measured- - 100
Justin Edwardsnot 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.