← 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
Serena Williams2 decades - 2
Andre Agassi3 decades - 3
Venus Williams2 decades - 4
Monica Seles2 decades - 5
Pete Sampras3 decades - 6
Coco Gauffnot measured- - 7
Andy Roddick0 decades - 8
Madison Keys0 decades - 9
Jessica Pegulanot measured- - 10
Sloane Stephens0 decades - 11
Jennifer Capriati0 decades - 12
Amanda Anisimovanot measured- - 13
Michael Chang1 decades - 14
Jim Courier0 decades - 15
Taylor Fritznot measured- - 16
Sofia Keninnot measured- - 17
Lindsay Davenport0 decades - 18
Taylor Townsendnot measured- - 19
John Isner0 decades - 20
Ben Sheltonnot measured- - 21
Frances Tiafoenot measured- - 22
Emma Navarronot measured- - 23
CoCo Vandeweghenot measured- - 24
Sam Querrey0 decades - 25
Jack Socknot measured- - 26
Danielle Collinsnot measured- - 27
Tommy Paulnot measured- - 28
Iva Jovicnot measured- - 29
Mónica Puignot measured- - 30
Bob Bryannot measured- - 31
Rajeev Ramnot measured- - 32
Ryan Sweetingnot measured- - 33
Ryan Harrisonnot measured- - 34
Caty McNallynot measured- - 35
Learner Tiennot measured- - 36
Jennifer Bradynot measured- - 37
Patrick McEnroenot measured- - 38
Alycia Parksnot measured- - 39
MaliVai Washingtonnot measured- - 40
Ann Linot measured- - 41
Mardy Fish0 decades - 42
Brandon Nakashimanot measured- - 43
Jenson Brooksbynot measured- - 44
Desirae Krawczyknot measured- - 45
Alex Michelsennot measured- - 46
Ashlyn Kruegernot measured- - 47
Sebastian Kordanot measured- - 48
Reilly Opelkanot measured- - 49
Mike Bryannot measured- - 50
Andrea Jaegernot measured- - 51
Peyton Stearnsnot measured- - 52
Nicole Melichar-Martineznot measured- - 53
Bryan Sheltonnot measured- - 54
Steve Johnsonnot measured- - 55
Christian Harrisonnot measured- - 56
Donald Youngnot measured- - 57
Bethanie Mattek-Sandsnot measured- - 58
Mary Joe Fernándeznot measured- - 59
Kayla Daynot measured- - 60
Katie Volynetsnot measured- - 61
Chanda Rubinnot measured- - 62
Alison Riske-Amritrajnot measured- - 63
Todd Martinnot measured- - 64
Marcos Gironnot measured- - 65
Austin Krajiceknot measured- - 66
Christopher Eubanksnot measured- - 67
Mackenzie McDonaldnot measured- - 68
Robin Montgomerynot measured- - 69
Bjorn Fratangelonot measured- - 70
Robby Gineprinot measured- - 71
Caroline Dolehidenot measured- - 72
Asia Muhammadnot measured- - 73
Varvara Lepchenkonot measured- - 74
Claire Liunot measured- - 75
Lisa Raymondnot measured- - 76
J.J. Wolfnot measured- - 77
Hailey Baptistenot measured- - 78
Aaron Kricksteinnot measured- - 79
Murphy Jensennot measured- - 80
Ashley Harkleroadnot measured- - 81
Clervie Ngounouenot measured- - 82
Tennys Sandgrennot measured- - 83
Madison Brenglenot measured- - 84
Christina McHalenot measured- - 85
McCartney Kesslernot measured- - 86
Aleksandar Kovacevicnot measured- - 87
Justin Gimelstobnot measured- - 88
Michael Russellnot measured- - 89
Taylor Dentnot measured- - 90
Liezel Hubernot measured- - 91
Shelby Rogersnot measured- - 92
Jan-Michael Gambillnot measured- - 93
Meghann Shaughnessynot measured- - 94
Whitney Osuigwenot measured- - 95
Shikha Uberoinot measured- - 96
Lauren Davisnot measured- - 97
Nishesh Basavareddynot measured- - 98
Catherine Bellisnot measured- - 99
Michael Mmohnot measured- - 100
Melanie Oudinnot 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.