35.2064° N, 90.0889° W
MEMPHIS
Most Famous People Born in Memphis, United States
- Notable people
- 950
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- Median birth year
- 1953
- Most distinctive
- Rapper 16.4×
The 7.4× songwriter over-index is Stax and Sun Studio in one number — the city where Aretha Franklin was born and Elvis is buried still disproportionately manufactures the people who write American pop. The 16.4× rapper multiplier is a newer chapter, Three 6 Mafia and a generation of Memphis horror-rap running through the same neighborhoods that taught Morgan Freeman his accent.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Memphis during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 127 notable births.
What Memphis Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is Memphis's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (140).
Memphis over-indexes on rapper — 16.4× the global rate.
Memphis under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Memphis's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Music
- Film & TV
- Politics & Law
- Writing
- Science
- Other
- Filtered to 1900s Clear ×
Lucile Browne
1907 - 1976
Buster Bailey
1902 - 1967
Elwood Ullman
1903 - 1985
George Saling
1909 - 1933
Elizabeth Thomas (Egyptologist)
1907 - 1986
Moses Allen (musician)
1907 - 1983
John West Sinclair
1900 - 1945
Hildrus Poindexter
1901 - 1987
Tiny Davis
1907 - 1994
Fred Robinson (musician)
1901 - 1984
Johnny Williams (bassist)
1908 - 1998
John Overton Williams
1905 - 1996
William Franklin (singer)
1906 - 1948
Nathan Bedford Forrest III
1905 - 1943
Bill Allington
1903 - 1966
Elma Stuckey
1907 - 1988
Al Alquist
1908 - 2006
Frank Waddey
1905 - 1990
Robert Chapin
1907 - 1987
Floy Clements
1909 - 1973
Larry Creson
1906 - 1972
Bill Mallory (American football, born 1901)
1901 - 1945