400–499

The 5th century

Whose working lives fell in the 5th century. Books are measured from 1800 and readers from 2015, so for this period we can say who lived then, not who was talked about then.

Lived then

The most notable people whose working lives fell in the 5th century, ranked where Wikipedia coverage and readership agree.

#PersonIn print, 1800–2019Echoed

1Nestorius380–451 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Writers22 decades
2Sidonius Apollinaris430–489 · Writers22 decades
3Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus400–450 · Writers0 decades
4Orosius385–418 · Writers22 decades
5Simeon Stylites389–459 · 🇹🇷 Turkey · Writers22 decades
6Macrobius370–430 · Writers22 decades
7Buddhaghosa401–500 · 🇮🇳 India · Writers15 decades
8ZZosimus460–520 · Writersnot measured—
9SYShen Yue441–513 · Writersnot measured—
10FYFan Ye398–445 · Writersnot measured—
11Claudian370–404 · Writers22 decades
12SSozomen400–450 · Writers22 decades
13Tao Hongjing456–536 · Writers6 decades
14SOSocrates of Constantinople380–440 · Writers0 decades
15Xie Lingyun385–433 · Writers5 decades
16Egeriaborn 400 · Writers22 decades
17PSPei Songzhi372–451 · Writersnot measured—
18Moses of Chorene410–490 · Writers11 decades
19Stobaeus430–470 · Writers22 decades
20QSQuintus Smyrnaeus400–400 · Writers0 decades
21Tao Yuanming365–427 · 🇨🇳 China · Writers10 decades
22RCRutilius Claudius Namatianus400–500 · Writers0 decades
23SSalvian400–470 · Writers22 decades
24Jacob of Serugh451–521 · Writers0 decades
25LXLiu Xie460–522 · Writersnot measured—
26Hesychius of Alexandria450–500 · Writers0 decades
27LYLiu Yiqing403–444 · Writersnot measured—
28HHydatius400–469 · Writers3 decades
29DPDares Phrygius450–500 · Writers10 decades
30Bao Zhao414–466 · Writersnot measured—
31MCMarcellinus Comes450–534 · Writers0 decades
32Hilary of Arles401–449 · Writers1 decades
33JFJulius Firmicus Maternus400–400 · Writers1 decades
34Philostorgius368–450 · Writers21 decades
35Avianus400–401 · Writers8 decades
36CConstantine411–443 · Writersnot measured—
37OOOlympiodorus of Thebes380–425 · Writers0 decades
38Coelius Sedulius400–500 · Writers0 decades
39EEugippius460–533 · Writers2 decades
40JYJiang Yan444–505 · Writersnot measured—
41Nilus of Sinai365–430 · Writers0 decades
42Juvencus400–400 · Writers19 decades
43XTXie Tiao464–499 · Writersnot measured—
44DDracontius455–505 · Writers13 decades
45GOGennadius of Massiliadied 496 · 🇫🇷 France · Writers0 decades
46MEMarcellus Empiricus400–500 · Writers0 decades
47GOGregory of Elvira400–400 · Writers11 decades
48Maximus of Turin400–420 · Writers0 decades
49YXYang Xuanzhi450–555 · Writersnot measured—
50PPalladas400–500 · Writersnot measured—
51VOVictor of Vita430–490 · Writers0 decades
52SShanfara401–600 · Writers1 decades
53IOIsaiah of Gazadied 491 · Writers0 decades
54FOFaustus of Byzantium390–500 · Writers0 decades
55Yeghishe410–475 · Writersnot measured—
56Theodorus Lector450–600 · Writers1 decades
57NNarsai410–502 · Writers8 decades
58Koryun380–450 · Writers0 decades
59LDLi Daoyuan401–527 · Writers0 decades
60Bozorgmehr450–501 · Writers3 decades
61LPLatinius Pacatus Drepanius400–400 · Writers0 decades
62CMClaudianus Mamertus420–470 · Writers0 decades
63SASulpicius Alexanderborn 400 · Writers0 decades
64Eleutherius of Tournai456–532 · Writers0 decades
65EOEustathius of Epiphania401–518 · Writers0 decades
66CChristodorusborn 450 · Writers0 decades
67AAristaenetus400–500 · Writers8 decades
68NANummius Aemilianus Dexterborn 400 · Writers0 decades
69RPRenatus Profuturus Frigeridusborn 400 · Writers0 decades
70CCharisius400–400 · Writersnot measured—
71Ghazar Parpetsi442–510 · Writers0 decades
72Symphosius400–500 · Writers1 decades
73MMMarius Mercator390–451 · Writers5 decades
74Tiberius Claudius Donatus400–500 · Writers0 decades
75PTPaulinus the Deacon370–428 · Writers0 decades
76PPaeaniusborn 400 · Writers0 decades
77SSalonius400–460 · Writersnot measured—
78COConstantius of Lyon410–494 · Writers0 decades
79POPaulinus of Pella376–459 · Writers0 decades
80PDPaulin de Périgueux459–490 · Writersnot measured—
81JRJohn Rufus450–600 · Writers0 decades
82AAnatolius421–451 · Writersnot measured—
83EEucheriaborn 450 · Writers0 decades
84VSVibius Sequester400–500 · Writers1 decades
85AOAuspicius of Touldied 478 · Writers0 decades
86VOVictor of Capua401–554 · Writers0 decades
87SSSeverus Sanctus Endelechius400–500 · Writers0 decades
88Kulayb ibn Rabiaborn 440 · Writersnot measured—
89CCyprianus397–430 · Writers18 decades
90FYFan Yun451–503 · Writers0 decades
91POPanodorus of Alexandria400–500 · Writersnot measured—
92IOIsaac of Antioch400–460 · Writers0 decades
93GGuṇabhadra394–468 · Writers0 decades
94CCeler401–501 · Writersnot measured—
95LBLaila bint Lukaizdied 483 · Writersnot measured—
96AMArusianus Messius400–500 · Writers0 decades
97Vinidariusborn 400 · Writers0 decades
98PHPrince Hayabusawakedied 423 · 🇯🇵 Japan · Writersnot measured—
99AAgroecius450–450 · Writers0 decades
100FRFlavius Rusticus Helpidius450–550 · Writersnot measured—

How this is measured

Placing people in time. Each person belongs to the century in which they were most active — around age 35, and never after their death.
Who ranks highest. Within a century, people are ranked where two independent signals agree: how many of the world’s Wikipedia language editions cover them, and how many people actually read about them. Article counts alone can be lifted by a person’s own circle; readers cannot.
Fame in print. The curves count how often a name appears in Google Books from 1800 to 2019, as a share of all the words printed each year, in the person’s own language wherever that corpus exists. Those decades are over, so each measurement is made once and kept.
What is left out. A lifetime is measured only from 1820, when there is enough print to judge; the five years after a death are skipped as obituaries; and a name shared with someone equally notable is credited to neither.