Most Famous British Athletes

50 British Athletes in view out of 2,395

Lewis Hamilton British Driver Born 1985

#2,712 Wiki

Alex Ferguson British Football Born 1941

#2,739 Wiki

Steven Gerrard British Football Born 1980

#2,763 Wiki

VJ

Vinnie Jones British Football Born 1965

#2,933 Wiki

Frank Lampard British Football Born 1978

#3,138 Wiki

Mo Farah British Runner Born 1983

#3,349 Wiki

Bobby Charlton British Football Born 1937

#3,456 Wiki

Paul Gascoigne British Football Born 1967

#3,654 Wiki

Rio Ferdinand British Football Born 1978

#3,757 Wiki

Kevin Keegan British Football Born 1951

#4,394 Wiki

BM

Bobby Moore British Football 1941 – 1993

#4,517 Wiki

Nigel Mansell British Driver Born 1953

#4,724 Wiki

Lennox Lewis British Boxer Born 1965

#5,146 Wiki

James Hunt British Driver 1947 – 1993

#5,289 Wiki

Roger Bannister British Runner 1929 – 2018

#6,115 Wiki

SM

Stanley Matthews British Football 1915 – 2000

#6,294 Wiki

Jim Clark British Driver 1936 – 1968

#6,317 Wiki

Paula Radcliffe British Runner Born 1973

#6,724 Wiki

Gary Neville British Football Born 1975

#6,903 Wiki

Ronnie O'Sullivan British Player Born 1975

#7,603 Wiki

Jonny Wilkinson British Player Born 1979

#8,013 Wiki

Aaron Ramsey British Football Born 1990

#9,032 Wiki

EL

Eric Liddell British Player 1902 – 1945

#9,077 Wiki

Jamie Carragher British Football Born 1978

#9,267 Wiki

Colin McRae British Driver 1968 – 2007

#10,043 Wiki

Tom Simpson British Sport 1937 – 1967

#10,052 Wiki

John Charles British Football 1931 – 2004

#10,524 Wiki

DF

Dick Francis British Equestrian 1920 – 2010

#11,278 Wiki

Linford Christie British Sprint Born 1960

#11,734 Wiki

Ian Rush British Football Born 1961

#11,781 Wiki

Steve Redgrave British Rower Born 1962

#12,456 Wiki

Geoff Hurst British Football Born 1941

#12,846 Wiki

Bill Shankly British Football 1913 – 1981

#13,019 Wiki

HA

Harold Abrahams British Athletic 1899 – 1978

#13,272 Wiki

JE

Jonathan Edwards (triple jumper) British Athletic Born 1966

#13,561 Wiki

Jenson Button British Driver Born 1980

#14,037 Wiki

W. G. Grace British Cricket 1848 – 1915

#14,808 Wiki

Bryan Robson British Football Born 1957

#15,198 Wiki

Mark Hughes British Football Born 1963

#15,283 Wiki

Gary Speed British Football 1969 – 2011

#16,210 Wiki

Jermain Defoe British Football Born 1982

#17,222 Wiki

Nigel Short British Chess Born 1965

#17,285 Wiki

Gary Cahill British Football Born 1985

#17,609 Wiki

David Millar British Sport Born 1977

#18,084 Wiki

Gareth Barry British Football Born 1981

#18,282 Wiki

Teddy Sheringham British Football Born 1966

#18,329 Wiki

Howard Staunton British Chess 1810 – 1874

#18,942 Wiki

Harry Vardon British Golf 1870 – 1937

#19,373 Wiki

John Surtees British Driver 1934 – 2017

#19,445 Wiki

William Regal British Wrestler Born 1968

#20,133 Wiki

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.

Biggest Most distinctive

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.

Football1,08545%
Cricket67828%
Player2098.7%
Sport592.5%
Driver461.9%
Athletic371.5%
Golf321.3%
Boxer311.3%

Cricket67834.6×
Golf3215.3×
Racer2911.0×
Player2099.4×
Driver466.9×
Football1,0854.9×
Boxer313.3×
Athletic371.6×

City Hot Spots

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