← 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
Danilo Gallinarinot measured- - 2
Marco Belinellinot measured- - 3
Andrea Bargnaninot measured- - 4
Simone Fontecchionot measured- - 5
Nico Mannionnot measured- - 6
Nicolò Mellinot measured- - 7
Gianmarco Pozzecconot measured- - 8
Luigi Datomenot measured- - 9
Carlton Myersnot measured- - 10
Daniel Hackettnot measured- - 11
Andrea Trinchierinot measured- - 12
Sani Bečirovićnot measured- - 13
Gianluca Basilenot measured- - 14
Achille Polonaranot measured- - 15
Alessandro Gentilenot measured- - 16
Alessandro Pajolanot measured- - 17
Gabriele Procidanot measured- - 18
Pietro Aradorinot measured- - 19
Luca Banchinot measured- - 20
Giacomo Galandanot measured- - 21
Giuseppe Poetanot measured- - 22
Cecilia Zandalasininot measured- - 23
Amedeo Della Vallenot measured- - 24
Denis Marconatonot measured- - 25
Marco Spissunot measured- - 26
Roberto Chiacignot measured- - 27
Matteo Soragnanot measured- - 28
Giampaolo Riccinot measured- - 29
Andrea Meneghinnot measured- - 30
Massimo Bullerinot measured- - 31
Simone Pianigianinot measured- - 32Giulia Rullinot measured-
- 33
Matteo Spagnolonot measured- - 34
Andrea Cinciarininot measured- - 35
Stefano Tonutnot measured- - 36
Riccardo Pittisnot measured- - 37
Luca Vitalinot measured- - 38
Ferdinando Gentilenot measured- - 39Dejan Koturovićnot measured-
- 40
Alex Righettinot measured- - 41Alessandro Abbionot measured-
- 42
Rodolfo Rombaldoninot measured- - 43
Claudio Coldebellanot measured- - 44Michele Miannot measured-
- 45
Marco Cusinnot measured- - 46
Luca Garrinot measured- - 47Stefano Rusconinot measured-
- 48
Paolo Galbiatinot measured- - 49
Stefano Mancinellinot measured- - 50
Michele Vitalinot measured- - 51
Riccardo Moraschininot measured- - 52
Andrea De Nicolaonot measured- - 53
Marco Mordentenot measured- - 54
Tomas Ressnot measured- - 55
Amedeo Tessitorinot measured- - 56
Davide Pascolonot measured- - 57
Stefano Gentilenot measured- - 58
Daniele Magronot measured- - 59
Awudu Abassnot measured- - 60Vincenzo Espositonot measured-
- 61Marcella Filippinot measured-
- 62
Alessandro Tonollinot measured- - 63
Marco Carrarettonot measured- - 64
Diego Flaccadorinot measured- - 65
Angelo Giglinot measured- - 66
Andrea Crosariolnot measured- - 67
Alessandro De Polnot measured- - 68Chiara Consolininot measured-
- 69
Kathrin Ressnot measured- - 70
Paolo Morettinot measured- - 71Alessandro Frosininot measured-
- 72
Giorgia Sottananot measured- - 73
Lorela Cubajnot measured- - 74
Maurizio Buscaglianot measured- - 75
Riccardo Cervinot measured- - 76
Dame Sarrnot measured- - 77
Paul Bilighanot measured- - 78Davide Bonoranot measured-
- 79
Laura Macchinot measured- - 80
Giordano Bortolaninot measured- - 81Catarina Pollininot measured-
- 82Nicoletta Caselinnot measured-
- 83Novella Schiesaronot measured-
- 84
Marc Trasolininot measured- - 85
Michele Ruzziernot measured- - 86
Tomas Woldetensaenot measured- - 87
Michele Antonuttinot measured- - 88
David Cournoohnot measured- - 89
Giancarlo Ferreronot measured- - 90Susanna Bonfiglionot measured-
- 91
Giacomo Devecchinot measured- - 92Elena Paparazzonot measured-
- 93
Alessandro Cittadininot measured- - 94
Fabio Miannot measured- - 95
Andrea Renzinot measured- - 96Valerio Amorosonot measured-
- 97Mirza Alibegovićnot measured-
- 98
Giovanni Pininot measured- - 99
Fabrizio Ambrassanot measured- - 100Mara Fullinnot 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.