← 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
Iris Mittenaerenot measured- - 2
Deva Casselnot measured- - 3
Noémie Lenoirnot measured- - 4
Thylane Blondeaunot measured- - 5
Delphine Wespisernot measured- - 6
Alexandra Rosenfeldnot measured- - 7
Camille Rowenot measured- - 8
Camille Cerfnot measured- - 9
Sylvie Telliernot measured- - 10
Marine Lorphelinnot measured- - 11
Constance Jablonskinot measured- - 12
Ines Raunot measured- - 13
Sonia Ben Ammarnot measured- - 14
Jade Jaggernot measured- - 15
Cindy Brunanot measured- - 16
Nabilla Benattianot measured- - 17
Isabelle Pasconot measured- - 18
Diane Leyrenot measured- - 19
Chloé Mortaudnot measured- - 20
Flora Coquerelnot measured- - 21
Malika Ménardnot measured- - 22
Sigrid Agrennot measured- - 23
Loan Chabanolnot measured- - 24
Rachel Legrain-Trapaninot measured- - 25
Alicia Ayliesnot measured- - 26
Kenza Fouratinot measured- - 27
Aymeline Valadenot measured- - 28
Amandine Petitnot measured- - 29
Cindy Fabrenot measured- - 30
Maëva Couckenot measured- - 31
Pauline Hoaraunot measured- - 32
Estelle Chennot measured- - 33
Sophie Vouzelaudnot measured- - 34
Filippa Hamiltonnot measured- - 35
Magali Amadeinot measured- - 36
Anais Malinot measured- - 37
Malika Loubacknot measured- - 38
Morgane Dublednot measured- - 39
Nadège du Bospertusnot measured- - 40
Lætitia Blégernot measured- - 41
Tina Kunakeynot measured- - 42
Willy Cartiernot measured- - 43
Diana Starkovanot measured- - 44
Quentin Eliasnot measured- - 45
Laura Tanguynot measured- - 46
Caroline de Maigretnot measured- - 47
Fabien Yoonnot measured- - 48Tom Niconnot measured-
- 49Charlotte Di Calypsonot measured-
- 50
Vanessa Brunonot measured- - 51
Casey Leglernot measured- - 52
Aurélie Claudelnot measured- - 53
Indira Ampiotnot measured- - 54
Ève Gillesnot measured- - 55
Sophie Thalmannnot measured- - 56
Nathalie Marquaynot measured- - 57
Julia Restoin Roitfeldnot measured- - 58
Laeticia Boudounot measured- - 59
Marie-Pierre Leraynot measured- - 60
Arthur Cadrenot measured- - 61
Didi-Stonenot measured- - 62Alyson Le Borgesnot measured-
- 63
Joséphine Le Tutournot measured- - 64
Loulou Robertnot measured- - 65Hinarani de Longeauxnot measured-
- 66Carla Ginolanot measured-
- 67
Terence Tellenot measured- - 68
Jade Lebœufnot measured- - 69Tuki Brandonot measured-
- 70Stella Belmondonot measured-
- 71Ilona Smetnot 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.