36.1804° N, 86.7409° W
NASHVILLE
Most Famous People Born in Nashville, United States
- Notable people
- 804
- Peak decade
- 1980s
- Median birth year
- 1941
- Most distinctive
- Songwriter 8.7×
Nashville's Songwriter bench is Music Row in one line of the file — the Bradley and RCA studios that built modern country and then absorbed Americana, gospel and contemporary Christian writing on top. The heavier-than-expected Baseball count is older, a holdover from the Nashville Vols of the Southern Association, while the Music and Singer lines run from the Grand Ole Opry's founding generation through the outlaw country and contemporary Americana eras.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Nashville during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 79 notable births.
What Nashville Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Football is Nashville's biggest profession — 10% of all notables (80).
Nashville over-indexes on songwriter — 8.7× the global rate.
Nashville under-produces writer — only 0.4× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Nashville's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Music
- Politics & Law
- Film & TV
- Writing
- Science
- Other
Billy Byrd
1920 - 2001
Russell Smith (singer)
1949 - 2019
Edgar C. Ellis
1854 - 1947
Virginia Clay-Clopton
1825 - 1915
David Choby
1947 - 2017
John J. Tigert
1882 - 1965
Jimmy Norman
1937 - 2011
Mildred T. Stahlman
Born 1922
Wyatt Nash
Born 1988
Joseph Carlton Loser
1892 - 1984
William Neville
1843 - 1909
Natalie Hemby
Born 1977
John D. Liu
Born 1953
William P. Lawrence
1930 - 2005
Thomas J. Anderson
1910 - 2002
John Bennett Dawson
1798 - 1845
Roy Huskey Jr.
1956 - 1997
Del Wood
1920 - 1989
Sophie Spitz
1910 - 1956
Wesley Johnson (American football)
Born 1991
Matt Slocum
Born 1972
Bill Ligon
Born 1952
Bill Harris (guitarist)
1925 - 1988
Felix Grundy McConnell
1809 - 1846
William Henry Carroll
1810 - 1868
Wolfie D
Born 1973
Mark Levine (journalist)
Born 1966
Mia Rose Frampton
Born 1996
Elmo Tanner
1904 - 1990
Conor McDermott
Born 1992
David H. Simmons
Born 1952
David P. Sartor
Born 1956
David Vaughn Jr.
Born 1952
Richard Merrill Atkinson
1894 - 1947
Dave Cloud
1956 - 2015
Washington Barrow
1807 - 1866
Beverly Briley
1914 - 1980
John A. Wharton
1828 - 1865
Jane Branstetter Stranch
Born 1953
William Harding Carter
1851 - 1925
Gary Jenkins
-
Carol S. Batey
Born 1955
Charley Moran
1878 - 1949
Joseph W. Byrns Jr.
1903 - 1973
Everett J. Murphy
1852 - 1922
Aubrie Sellers
Born 1991
Tim Cahill (writer)
Born 1944
Wesley Bennett
1913 - 2002
David A. Vise
Born 1960
Robin Farina
Born 1977
William Lindsay Scruggs
1836 - 1912
Antonio Richardson
Born 1992
Roy Wiggins
1926 - 1999
John Haden Wilson
1867 - 1946
Ricky Morton
Born 1956
Allison Alderson
Born 1977
Johnny Beazley
1918 - 1990
Tim Dobbins
Born 1982
Alyssa Bonagura
Born 1988
William R. Wilkerson
1890 - 1962
Dave Reavis
Born 1950
Christopher Dickey
1951 - 2020
Anne Dallas Dudley
1876 - 1955
Ryan Carrethers
Born 1991
Perry Wallace
1948 - 2017
Ted Rhodes
1913 - 1969
Greg Bates
Born 1987
Brian Mansfield
Born 1963
William Giles Harding
1808 - 1886
David Crosthwait
1898 - 1976
Clint Grant
1916 - 2010
Lenny Lyles
1936 - 2011
Matt Friction
Born 1981
Clay Travis
Born 1979
Madison Jones
1925 - 2012
Monica Wehby
Born 1962
Ruby Wright (country singer)
1939 - 2009
Fred Toney
1888 - 1953
Emily Levine
Died 2019
D. M. Smith
1884 - 1962
James Edwards Rains
1833 - 1862
Kitty Cheatham
1864 - 1946
Kevin McDermott (American football)
Born 1990
Willie Hightower
1889 - 1959
Chris Feinstein
1967 - 2009
Antonio Gotto
Born 1935
Floyd Robinson (singer)
1932 - 2016
Jim Ellis (computing)
1956 - 2001
Lee Summers
Born 1958
Randal William McGavock
1826 - 1863
Phillip Supernaw
Born 1990
R. Milton Johnson
Born 1957
Carolyn Rovee-Collier
1942 - 2014
Sweet Charles Sherrell
Born 1943
Gil Martin
Born 1960
Ellie Holcomb
Born 1982
Nancy Cox-McCormack
1885 - 1967
Robin Lee Bruce
Born 1963
John Gordy
1935 - 2009
Prince Charles Iworah
Born 1993
Jonathan Reid
Born 1972
James Collinsworth
1806 - 1838
Fredrick McKissack
1939 - 2013
Ahmaad Smith
Born 1983
Shonali Bhowmik
-
James Stone (American football)
Born 1992
Charles Royster
1944 - 2020
L. Gregory Jones
Born 1960
Gladeon M. Barnes
1887 - 1961
Jordan Miller (American football)
Born 1988
Chris Gaines (gridiron football)
Born 1965
Bill Shannon
Born 1970
James Carroll Napier
1845 - 1940
Steve Goldstein (diplomat)
Born 1951
Roy Cullenbine
1913 - 1991
Chip Saltsman
Born 1968
Paul Rand Dixon
1913 - 1996
E. Inman Fox
1934 - 2008
Dmitri Matheny
Born 1965
Samuel Hollingsworth Stout
1822 - 1903
George E. Coghill
1872 - 1941
Ronald Kelly
Born 1959
Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Born 1978
Orleans Darkwa
Born 1992
Ashley Whitney
Born 1979
W. C. Gorden
1930 - 2020
Oliver Kuhn
1898 - 1968
Dan Blazer
Born 1944
Gilbert S. Merritt Jr.
Born 1936
Jere Baxter
1852 - 1904
Nicole Taylor Hart
Born 1968
Charles M. Murphy (coach)
1913 - 1999
Joseph P. Sneed
1804 - 1881
Roman White
-
Sterling C. Robertson
1785 - 1842
Boots Donnelly
Born 1942
Caroline Randall Williams
Born 1987
Larry Brody
Born 1944
Luke Sanders
Born 1985
J. J. Arrington
Born 1983
Delano Meriwether
Born 1943
Katie Davis (missionary)
Born 1989
Paul Richard Averitt
1923 - 2001
Juan Logan
Born 1946
Jeff Cease
Born 1967
Tom Moran (blocking back)
1899 - 1933
Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr.
Born 1956
Wayne Garland
Born 1950
Missy Kane
Born 1955
Virginia E. Walker Broughton
1856 - 1934
Felix Robertson
1781 - 1865
Henry Thomas Harrison
1832 - 1923
Phillip Hill
Born 1972
William K. Warren Sr.
1897 - 1990
John W. Overton
1894 - 1918
Ted Jarrett
1925 - 2009
Patrick Turner
Born 1987
Red Farmer
Born 1928
Merrimon Cuninggim
1911 - 1995
Jerome Coffee
Born 1958
Alvan Cullom Gillem Jr.
1888 - 1973
Carson Boren
1824 - 1912
Larcena Pennington Page
1837 - 1913
Bernard Fensterwald
1921 - 1991
Natalie LaRue
Born 1983
Hank Fort
1914 - 1973
Louis T. Wells
Born 1937
Jimmy Elledge
1943 - 2012
Elizabeth Riddle Graves
1916 - 1972
Larry Schmittou
Born 1940
Vaulx Carter
1863 - 1930
William B. Jordan
1940 - 2018
W. A. Cunningham
1886 - 1958
Alvin P. Shapiro
1920 - 1998
Freddie North
Born 1939
Sherry Jones
-
Avion Black
Born 1977
Thomas Aquinas Higgins
1932 - 2018
Brandon Curry
Born 1982
DeWayne Dotson
Born 1971
Belle Kinney Scholz
1890 - 1959
Jason Powell
Born 1978
Gayle Harrell
Born 1943
Willie Ackerman
1939 - 2012
Thomas Jennings Bailey
1867 - 1963
Jess Cates
Born 1976
Vic Shealy
Born 1961
George Washington Gift
1833 - 1879
Jay Wilkison
Born 1978
Thomas B. Allen (painter)
1928 - 2004
Dan Liljenquist
Born 1974
Jenks Gillem
1890 - 1951
Amerigo Gazaway
Born 1985
Damion Cook
1979 - 2015
Lollipop (wrestler)
Born 1979
Mark R. Cockrill
1788 - 1872
Bum Day
1898 - 1988
Neal Matthews Jr.
1929 - 2000
Mayna Treanor Avent
1868 - 1959
Bob Tillman
1937 - 2000
John Austin Wharton (1806–38)
1806 - 1838
Campbell Bonner
1876 - 1954
Braison Cyrus
Born 1994
Lefty Davis
1875 - 1919
Clyde McCullough
1917 - 1982
Ezzrett Anderson
1920 - 2017
Ndidi Madu
Born 1989
Austin Denney
1944 - 2009
Zach Rogers
Born 1990
Thomas Menees
1823 - 1905
Jack Tate (politician)
Born 1967
Larry Teague
Born 1958
William L. Campbell Jr.
Born 1969
Kim Planert
Born 1973
Isaac S. Taylor
1850 - 1917
William Ruthven Smith
1868 - 1941
Tom Bolton (baseball)
Born 1962
Odell Bradley
Born 1981
John Scott Sherrill
-
James G. Stahlman
1893 - 1976
Connie Eaton
1950 - 1999
Leslie Johnson (councilwoman)
-
Michael D'Anna
Born 1972
Leonora Ainsworth
1894 - 1985
Catherine Allen Latimer
1896 - 1948
Foster Castleman
Born 1931
Garland Morrow
1899 - 1987
Guilford Dudley (ambassador)
1907 - 2002
Will Wade (basketball)
Born 1982
Kerry G. Johnson
Born 1966
Marquez Pope
Born 1970
Harold Love
Born 1972
David K. Wilson
1919 - 2007
Jim Zapp
1924 - 2016
Jeremy D. Howard
-
Jeremy Childs
-
Lucius E. Burch
1874 - 1959
Johnny T. Talley
Born 1924
Cheri Beasley
Born 1966
Jesse Russell
Born 1948
Kenneth Pettiford
Born 1950
David Sisco
1937 - 2016
Thomas Fletcher (American politician, born 1817)
1817 - 1880
Charlie Wade (American football)
Born 1950
Carla Hall
Born 1964
DeWitt Weaver
1912 - 1998
John Jay Hooker
1930 - 2016
Alonzo C. Webb
1888 - 1975
Ellery Huntington Jr.
1893 - 1987
Larry Jent
Born 1951
Patrick Wimberly
Born 1983
Kippi Brannon
Born 1966
Brentley Gore
Born 1974
Pat Cupp
Born 1938
Bob Reynolds (American football, born 1939)
1939 - 1996
Jennie M. Forehand
Born 1935
Cecil Grigg
1891 - 1968
Ferdinand Lee Barnett (Chicago)
1859 - 1936
Ken Johnson (defensive end, born 1955)
Born 1955
Samuel Snowden Hayes
1820 - 1880
Jeff Powell (American football)
Born 1963
Bobby Joe Edmonds
Born 1964
George Archie
1914 - 2001
John Donelson Martin
1830 - 1862
Thomas F. Frist III
Born 1968
Boyfriend (rapper)
Born 1988
Reggie Grisham
-
Evan Bass
Born 1982
Thomas Jefferson Foster
1809 - 1887
John Noel (sport shooter)
1888 - 1939
Harry Stinson (musician)
-
Boyd Adams
-
James Shaw Jr.
Born 1988
Charlie Harding
1891 - 1971
Jeff Gooch
Born 1974
Reno Riggins
Born 1967
Morgane Stapleton
-
Corey Allen (cestista)
Born 1971
Amy Hood
Born 1971
Khallid Hart
Born 1994
Roy E. Steckel
1887 - 1950
Charles Meier
Born 2013
Bruce McLarty
Born 1957
Effie Anderson Smith
1869 - 1955
Marvelyn Brown
Born 1984
Ned Evett
Born 1967
Alexander William Campbell
1828 - 1893
Tucker Beathard
Born 1990
Roy Orbison Jr.
Born 1970
R. F. Graf
1863 - 1940
Hamilton Love
1875 - 1922
Jason Lehning
Born 1972
Michael Coleman (baseball)
Born 1975
Phil Connell
1874 - 1932
Debbie Combs
Born 1959
Joseph Bradford (playwright)
1843 - 1886
Frank Peak Akers
1901 - 1988
Zach Crowell
-
Joe Burke (infielder)
1867 - 1940
Bob Fisher (baseball)
1886 - 1963