Charles Bruneau
1883–1969French linguist (1883-1969)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most widely known is Charles Bruneau, the French linguist, with articles in 8 languages. 8 of them were born between the Revolution and the Second Empire, more than in any other period. Born in 1745, Guillaume Navoigille is the first name on record, and Gavroche, born in 1980, the most recent. Per head, the list is long: 26.7 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Ardennes has 9.5.
Compared with the usual town, musicians are the most over-represented field, at 5.4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Charles Bruneau leads with articles in 8 languages, ahead of Jules François Émile Krantz (8) and Aimée Lallement (5).
French linguist (1883-1969)
#2French navy officer (1821–1914)
#3French politician and athletics competitor
The 1840s top the chart, with 3 births in the decade.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
14 more names, born between 1745 and 1980.

Politician in France and a member of the Senate of France

Belgian politician and lawyer (1753-1838)




No one matches both filters.
Close by, the fullest list is Fumay’s, at 9 names.
Charles Bruneau (French linguist (1883-1969)) is the best known by our measure: 8 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Jules François Émile Krantz and Aimée Lallement.
17 people born in Givet have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 35 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.
Among its famous people, leaders: 6 of the 17. That is 35% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.
Guillaume Navoigille, born in 1745. The youngest on the list was born in 1980.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Givet itself, matched by its INSEE code (a commune merged into it counts when the dates allow), whose French Wikipedia article agrees, and their English article too when they have one. A hospital or neighbourhood recorded without its commune isn’t matched. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a hospital, a neighbourhood or a wider area, another commune, or missing, or their articles may not name a birthplace. We only list people the sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and French and English Wikipedia (each person’s articles confirm the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are matched to the commune by INSEE code and its history of mergers (INSEE COG 2026). Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across French towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the license below (our copy, resized).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.