← 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
Vanessa Paradis4 decades - 2
David Guetta1 decades - 3
Zaz2 decades - 4
Alizée3 decades - 5
Patricia Kaas3 decades - 6
Indila1 decades - 7
Aya Nakamuranot measured- - 8
Kavinskynot measured- - 9
DJ Snake0 decades - 10
Nolwenn Leroynot measured- - 11
Yann Tiersen2 decades - 12
Bob Sinclar1 decades - 13
Barbara Pravinot measured- - 14
Amirnot measured- - 15
Grégory Lemarchalnot measured- - 16
Slimanenot measured- - 17
Amel Bentnot measured- - 18
Bilal Hassaninot measured- - 19
Clara Morganenot measured- - 20
Thomas Bangalternot measured- - 21
Benjamin Biolaynot measured- - 22
Kendji Giracnot measured- - 23
Patrick Fiorinot measured- - 24
Boobanot measured- - 25
Earvin Ngapethnot measured- - 26
Hélène Grimaudnot measured- - 27
M. Pokoranot measured- - 28
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christonot measured- - 29
Sokonot measured- - 30
Imanynot measured- - 31
Hélène Ségaranot measured- - 32
Pommenot measured- - 33
Jenifernot measured- - 34
Philippe Jarousskynot measured- - 35
Rahim Redcarnot measured- - 36
Shy'mnot measured- - 37
Joyce Jonathannot measured- - 38
Orelsannot measured- - 39
Jainnot measured- - 40
Lorienot measured- - 41
Martin Solveignot measured- - 42
Camillenot measured- - 43
Quentin Dupieuxnot measured- - 44
Yoann Lemoinenot measured- - 45
MC Solaarnot measured- - 46
Madeonnot measured- - 47
Ana Tijouxnot measured- - 48
Julie Zenattinot measured- - 49
Yael Naimnot measured- - 50
Camélia Jordananot measured- - 51
Sébastien Telliernot measured- - 52
Sébastien Izambardnot measured- - 53
Nâdiyanot measured- - 54
Keny Arkananot measured- - 55
Pascal Obisponot measured- - 56
Gaël Fayenot measured- - 57
Jessy Matadornot measured- - 58
Olivia Ruiznot measured- - 59
Julien Dorénot measured- - 60
Talnot measured- - 61
Christophe Willemnot measured- - 62
Jean-Baptiste Mauniernot measured- - 63
Izïanot measured- - 64
La Fouinenot measured- - 65
Miss Kittinnot measured- - 66
Matthieu Chedidnot measured- - 67
Diam'snot measured- - 68
Vianneynot measured- - 69
Valentina Tronelnot measured- - 70
Philippe Katerinenot measured- - 71
Gesaffelsteinnot measured- - 72
Émilie Simonnot measured- - 73
Zaho de Sagazannot measured- - 74
Christophe Maénot measured- - 75
Clara Lucianinot measured- - 76
Vitaanot measured- - 77
Camille Lounot measured- - 78
Bénabarnot measured- - 79
Vitalicnot measured- - 80
Marina Kayenot measured- - 81
Laurent Garniernot measured- - 82
David Charvetnot measured- - 83
JoeyStarrnot measured- - 84
Natalie Dessaynot measured- - 85
Lucenzonot measured- - 86
Sopranonot measured- - 87
Abd al Maliknot measured- - 88
Kungsnot measured- - 89
Priscilla Bettinot measured- - 90
Perturbatornot measured- - 91
Monroenot measured- - 92
David Cagenot measured- - 93
Najoua Belyzelnot measured- - 94
Chimène Badinot measured- - 95
Baptiste Giabiconinot measured- - 96
Siniknot measured- - 97
Ophélie Winternot measured- - 98
Joe Duplantiernot measured- - 99
Denez Prigentnot measured- - 100
Nikolai Fraiturenot 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.