← 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
Cara Delevingne0 decades - 2
Naomi Campbell3 decades - 3
Kate Moss3 decades - 4
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley0 decades - 5
Hero Fiennes Tiffinnot measured- - 6
Suki Waterhousenot measured- - 7
Heather Millsnot measured- - 8
Lily Colenot measured- - 9
Keeley Hazellnot measured- - 10
Agyness Deynnot measured- - 11
David Gandynot measured- - 12Brooklyn Beckhamnot measured-
- 13
Georgia May Jaggernot measured- - 14
Liv Boereenot measured- - 15
Katie Pipernot measured- - 16
Emma Heming Willisnot measured- - 17
Karen Elsonnot measured- - 18
Selita Ebanksnot measured- - 19
Daisy Lowenot measured- - 20
Jodie Kiddnot measured- - 21
Danielle Lloydnot measured- - 22Domino Harveynot measured-
- 23
Poppy Delevingnenot measured- - 24
Tamara Ecclestonenot measured- - 25
Lily Donaldsonnot measured- - 26
Kaiane Aldorinonot measured- - 27
Stella Tennantnot measured- - 28
Abbey Clancynot measured- - 29
Darcey Bussellnot measured- - 30
Adwoa Aboahnot measured- - 31
Iskra Lawrencenot measured- - 32
Leomie Andersonnot measured- - 33
Penny Lancasternot measured- - 34
Louise Glovernot measured- - 35
Jourdan Dunnnot measured- - 36
Liberty Rossnot measured- - 37
Alexina Grahamnot measured- - 38
Amy Childsnot measured- - 39
Hazel Crowneynot measured- - 40
Pixie Geldofnot measured- - 41
Iris Lawnot measured- - 42
Lisa Snowdonnot measured- - 43
Erin O'Connornot measured- - 44
Munroe Bergdorfnot measured- - 45
Hammasa Kohistaninot measured- - 46
Kirsty Humenot measured- - 47
Karishma Kotaknot measured- - 48
Demi Rosenot measured- - 49
Yasmin Benoitnot measured- - 50
Jakki Deggnot measured- - 51
Amber Le Bonnot measured- - 52
Amy Magheranot measured- - 53
Edie Campbellnot measured- - 54
Harnaam Kaurnot measured- - 55
Catherine Tyldesleynot measured- - 56
Melinda Messengernot measured- - 57Ash Stymestnot measured-
- 58
Sara Stockbridgenot measured- - 59
Lucy Collettnot measured- - 60
Malaika Firthnot measured- - 61
Bianca Gascoignenot measured- - 62
Sophie Sumnernot measured- - 63
Michelle Marshnot measured- - 64
Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogersnot measured- - 65
Nora Attalnot measured- - 66
Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bathnot measured- - 67
Sophie Gradonnot measured- - 68
Lottie Mossnot measured- - 69Natasha Collinsnot measured-
- 70
Neelam Gillnot measured- - 71
Aisleyne Horgan-Wallacenot measured- - 72
Mikaal Zulfiqarnot measured- - 73
Leilani Dowdingnot measured- - 74Aiden Curtissnot measured-
- 75
Chloe-Beth Morgannot measured- - 76
Eva Vortexnot measured- - 77
Amy Willertonnot measured- - 78
Victoria Summernot measured- - 79
Chloe Marshallnot measured- - 80
Laura Colemannot measured- - 81
Marlon Bluenot measured- - 82Lauren Goldnot measured-
- 83Cherry Deenot measured-
- 84
Rylan Clarknot measured- - 85
Lila Mossnot measured- - 86
Maria Erikssonnot measured- - 87Saffron Aldridgenot measured-
- 88Imogen Thomasnot measured-
- 89
Jasmine Sinclairnot measured- - 90
Mecia Simsonnot measured- - 91Ben Elliotnot measured-
- 92
Paul Sculfornot measured- - 93Alex Currannot measured-
- 94
Nell McAndrewnot measured- - 95Lisa Butchernot measured-
- 96Nicola McLeannot measured-
- 97
Gwendolyn Osbornenot measured- - 98
Isabella Herveynot measured- - 99
Holly Halenot measured- - 100
Petra Ecclestonenot 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.