51.9225° N, 4.4793° E

ROTTERDAM

Most Famous People Born in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Notable people
1,222
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1938
Most distinctive
Swimmer 5.9×

The port-city blend: a theologian index of 2.7× that starts with Erasmus and never quite stops, a mathematician footprint in the Dijkstra tradition, and a painter lineage running from Willem de Kooning back through four centuries of Dutch light. The swimmer, rower, and boxer over-indexes are a different Rotterdam entirely — the concrete port city rebuilt after the 1940 Blitz, not the medieval town that didn't survive it.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 132 notable births.

What Rotterdam Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Rotterdam's biggest profession — 24% of all notables (290).

Rotterdam over-indexes on swimmer5.9× the global rate.

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

  1. Football290
  2. Painter90
  3. Politician89
  4. Actor41
  5. Swimmer35
  6. Singer33
  7. Writer31
  8. Sport25
  1. Swimmer355.9×
  2. Painter902.8×
  3. Theologian122.7×
  4. Rower122.7×
  5. Boxer122.5×
  6. Football2902.2×
  7. Mathematician132.1×
  8. Sculptor131.6×
  1. Politician890.6×
  2. Actor410.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Science
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Other
All1,222
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Showing 5 of 1,222 notable people

0380 FOOTBALL

Dogucan Haspolat

Born 2000

Preview
0606 FOOTBALL

Lutsharel Geertruida

Born 2000

Preview
1044 SKATER

Kyarha van Tiel

Born 2000

Preview
1174 FOOTBALL

Quincy Hogesteger

Born 2001

Preview
1182 SWIMMER

Chantalle Zijderveld

Born 2000

Preview