← 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
Jules Bianchi0 decades - 2
Pierre Gaslynot measured- - 3
Esteban Oconnot measured- - 4
Léon Marchandnot measured- - 5
Isack Hadjarnot measured- - 6
Mathieu van der Poelnot measured- - 7
Julian Alaphilippenot measured- - 8
Laurent Jalabertnot measured- - 9
Pauline Ferrand-Prévotnot measured- - 10
Renaud Lavillenie0 decades - 11
Johann Zarconot measured- - 12
Kevin Mayernot measured- - 13
Perrine Laffontnot measured- - 14
Fabio Quartararonot measured- - 15
Alain Bernardnot measured- - 16
Eric Perrotnot measured- - 17
Christophe Lemaitrenot measured- - 18
Cassandre Beaugrandnot measured- - 19
Ladji Doucourénot measured- - 20
Thomas Voecklernot measured- - 21
Romain Bardetnot measured- - 22
Marie-José Pérec3 decades - 23
Thibaut Pinotnot measured- - 24
Bryan Coquardnot measured- - 25
Richard Virenquenot measured- - 26
Sébastien Bourdais0 decades - 27
Mélina Robert-Michonnot measured- - 28
Jean Galfionenot measured- - 29
Sébastien Chabalnot measured- - 30
Anthoine Hubertnot measured- - 31
Alexis Vastinenot measured- - 32
Jean-Éric Vergnenot measured- - 33
Olivier Panisnot measured- - 34
Christine Arronnot measured- - 35
Jimmy Gressiernot measured- - 36
Jérôme Le Bannernot measured- - 37
Tony Gallopinnot measured- - 38
Martin Fourcade0 decades - 39
Emilien Jacquelinnot measured- - 40
Tony Yokanot measured- - 41
Paul Seixasnot measured- - 42
Stéphane Diagananot measured- - 43
Warren Barguilnot measured- - 44
Nacer Bouhanninot measured- - 45
Guillaume Martinnot measured- - 46
Yohann Diniznot measured- - 47
Yoann Offredonot measured- - 48
David Gaudunot measured- - 49
Théo Pourchairenot measured- - 50
Julien Absalonnot measured- - 51
Giuliano Alesinot measured- - 52
Christophe Laportenot measured- - 53
Teddy Tamghonot measured- - 54
Marina Anissinanot measured- - 55
Lenny Martineznot measured- - 56
Sylvain Chavanelnot measured- - 57
Pierre Rollandnot measured- - 58
Juliette Berthetnot measured- - 59
Marion Roussenot measured- - 60
Valentin Paret-Peintrenot measured- - 61
Vincent Luisnot measured- - 62
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbadnot measured- - 63
Jacky Durandnot measured- - 64
Tony Estanguetnot measured- - 65
Quentin Fillon-Mailletnot measured- - 66
David Moncoutiénot measured- - 67
Charles Picnot measured- - 68
Jean-Christophe Péraudnot measured- - 69
Jimmy Vicautnot measured- - 70
Sylvain Guintolinot measured- - 71
Valentin Madouasnot measured- - 72
Loris Baznot measured- - 73
Romain Grégoirenot measured- - 74
Franck Montagnynot measured- - 75
Doriane Pinnot measured- - 76
Cyréna Samba-Mayelanot measured- - 77
Manon Brunetnot measured- - 78
Sara Balzernot measured- - 79
Arnaud Démarenot measured- - 80
Bruno Armirailnot measured- - 81
Steven Da Costanot measured- - 82
Benjamin Thomasnot measured- - 83
Eunice Barbernot measured- - 84
Kévin Vauquelinnot measured- - 85
Benoît Cosnefroynot measured- - 86
Lilian Calmejanenot measured- - 87
Luc Leblancnot measured- - 88
Sébastien Desabrenot measured- - 89
Victor Martinsnot measured- - 90
Lou Jeanmonnotnot measured- - 91
Muriel Hurtis-Houairinot measured- - 92
Laurent Brochardnot measured- - 93
Pierre Latournot measured- - 94
Nicolas Prostnot measured- - 95
Simon Pagenaudnot measured- - 96
Cédrine Kerbaolnot measured- - 97
Laura Flessel-Colovicnot measured- - 98
Randy de Punietnot measured- - 99
Christophe Riblonnot measured- - 100
Christo Popovnot 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.