30.0460° N, 31.2365° E

CAIRO

Most Famous People Born in Cairo, Egypt

Notable people
1,340
Peak decade
1940s
Median birth year
1948
Most distinctive
Sultan 94.0×

An Arab capital with a deep medieval memory. Cairo's most distinctive profession is sultan at nearly a hundred times the global rate — the Mamluk and Ayyubid courts left a long shadow — alongside the diplomats, journalists, and artists of a 20th-century pan-Arab capital. The modern half is footballers, actors, and the filmmakers of the golden age of Egyptian cinema, the Hollywood of the Arab world.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Cairo during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 167 notable births.

What Cairo Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Cairo's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (178).

Cairo over-indexes on sultan94.0× the global rate.

Cairo under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football178
  2. Actor115
  3. Politician90
  4. Player62
  5. Writer49
  6. Film48
  7. Singer42
  8. Journalist34
  1. Sultan2694.0×
  2. Swimmer213.2×
  3. Film482.9×
  4. Diplomat212.7×
  5. Player622.4×
  6. Artist241.7×
  7. Actor1151.6×
  8. Journalist341.6×
  1. Politician900.6×
  2. Painter220.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Cairo's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All1,340
Sort By

Showing 19 of 1,340 notable people

0040 POLITICIAN

Mustafa Kamil Pasha

1874 - 1908

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0215 SOLDIER

Aziz Ali al-Misri

1879 - 1965

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0339 ACADEMIC

Yusuf Ibrahim (doctor)

1877 - 1953

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0391 PAINTER

Henri Émilien Rousseau

1875 - 1933

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0395 POLITICIAN

Mohamed Tawfik Naseem Pasha

1874 - 1938

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0421 HISTORIAN

Ahmed Taymour

1871 - 1930

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0510 DIPLOMAT

Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer

1877 - 1953

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0571 POLITICIAN

Safiya Zaghloul

1876 - 1946

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0587 WRITER

Wacyf Boutros-Ghali

1878 - 1958

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0661 POET

Agostino John Sinadino

1876 - 1956

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0684 EXPLORER

Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein

1874 - 1932

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0716 ACADEMIC

Muhammad al-Chudari

1872 - 1927

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0761 POLITICIAN

Ernest Billiet

1873 - 1939

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0975 PAINTER

Mathilde Delattre

Born 1871

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1003 POLITICIAN

Hussein Refki Pasha

1876 - 1950

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1146 ENGINEER

Farid Boulad Bey

1872 - 1947

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1208 JUDGE

Mourad Wahba

1879 - 1972

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1240 MUSIC

Mikhail Girgis El Batanouny

1873 - 1957

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1338 JOURNALIST

Labiba Ahmad

1870 - 1951

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