Global Leaderboard 50 in view

Most Famous British Athletes

Sports 2,395
United Kingdom 9,803
2,712 LH Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton British Driver b. 1985
2,739 AF Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson British Football b. 1941
2,763 SG Steven Gerrard Steven Gerrard British Football b. 1980
2,933 VJ Vinnie Jones British Football b. 1965
3,138 FL Frank Lampard Frank Lampard British Football b. 1978
3,349 MF Mo Farah Mo Farah British Runner b. 1983
3,456 BC Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton British Football b. 1937
3,654 PG Paul Gascoigne Paul Gascoigne British Football b. 1967
3,757 RF Rio Ferdinand Rio Ferdinand British Football b. 1978
4,394 KK Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan British Football b. 1951
4,517 BM Bobby Moore British Football 1941–1993
4,724 NM Nigel Mansell Nigel Mansell British Driver b. 1953
5,146 LL Lennox Lewis Lennox Lewis British Boxer b. 1965
5,289 JH James Hunt James Hunt British Driver 1947–1993
6,115 RB Roger Bannister Roger Bannister British Runner 1929–2018
6,294 SM Stanley Matthews British Football 1915–2000
6,317 JC Jim Clark Jim Clark British Driver 1936–1968
6,724 PR Paula Radcliffe Paula Radcliffe British Runner b. 1973
6,903 GN Gary Neville Gary Neville British Football b. 1975
7,603 RO Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronnie O'Sullivan British Player b. 1975
8,013 JW Jonny Wilkinson Jonny Wilkinson British Player b. 1979
9,032 AR Aaron Ramsey Aaron Ramsey British Football b. 1990
9,077 EL Eric Liddell British Player 1902–1945
9,267 JC Jamie Carragher Jamie Carragher British Football b. 1978
10,043 CM Colin McRae Colin McRae British Driver 1968–2007
10,052 TS Tom Simpson Tom Simpson British Sport 1937–1967
10,524 JC John Charles John Charles British Football 1931–2004
11,278 DF Dick Francis British Equestrian 1920–2010
11,734 LC Linford Christie Linford Christie British Sprint b. 1960
11,781 IR Ian Rush Ian Rush British Football b. 1961
12,456 SR Steve Redgrave Steve Redgrave British Rower b. 1962
12,846 GH Geoff Hurst Geoff Hurst British Football b. 1941
13,019 BS Bill Shankly Bill Shankly British Football 1913–1981
13,272 HA Harold Abrahams British Athletic 1899–1978
13,561 JE Jonathan Edwards (triple jumper) British Athletic b. 1966
14,037 JB Jenson Button Jenson Button British Driver b. 1980
14,808 WG W. G. Grace W. G. Grace British Cricket 1848–1915
15,198 BR Bryan Robson Bryan Robson British Football b. 1957
15,283 MH Mark Hughes Mark Hughes British Football b. 1963
16,210 GS Gary Speed Gary Speed British Football 1969–2011
17,222 JD Jermain Defoe Jermain Defoe British Football b. 1982
17,285 NS Nigel Short Nigel Short British Chess b. 1965
17,609 GC Gary Cahill Gary Cahill British Football b. 1985
18,084 DM David Millar David Millar British Sport b. 1977
18,282 GB Gareth Barry Gareth Barry British Football b. 1981
18,329 TS Teddy Sheringham Teddy Sheringham British Football b. 1966
18,942 HS Howard Staunton Howard Staunton British Chess 1810–1874
19,373 HV Harry Vardon Harry Vardon British Golf 1870–1937
19,445 JS John Surtees John Surtees British Driver 1934–2017
20,133 WR William Regal William Regal British Wrestler b. 1968
See all 152,953 rankings →

Ranked by cross-verified academic notability — how it works

By the numbers

Inside the United Kingdom Athletes

2,395 notable people in this slice of the dataset.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous the united kingdom athletes born in each.

Notable Births by Decade

Notable births among the United Kingdom Athletes peaked in the 1900s with 213 people.

What the United Kingdom Athletes Are Known For

Click any row to drill into that filter.

Football are the United Kingdom Athletes's biggest group — 45% of all notables (1,085).

The United Kingdom Athletes over-index on cricket — 34.6× the global rate.

  1. Football1,085
  2. Cricket678
  3. Player209
  4. Sport59
  5. Driver46
  6. Athletic37
  7. Golf32
  8. Boxer31
  1. Cricket67834.6×
  2. Golf3215.3×
  3. Racer2911.0×
  4. Player2099.4×
  5. Driver466.9×
  6. Football1,0854.9×
  7. Boxer313.3×
  8. Athletic371.6×

City Hot Spots

Cities that over-produce the United Kingdom Athletes compared to the world average — multiplier shows how much more.