#1Arnaud Novel
1201–1317French preacher, cardinal
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Arnaud Novel leads the list, covered in 8 languages. Close behind are Sébastien Descons and Aldo Quaglio. The list reaches back to Arnaud Novel, born in 1201, one of 4 born before the Revolution. 4 of them were born before the Revolution, more than in any other period.
The 1750s saw the most births of any decade: 2.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Three names lead: Arnaud Novel (8 languages), Sébastien Descons (3) and Aldo Quaglio (2).
#1French preacher, cardinal
French rugby union player
French rugby league and rugby union footballer (1932–2017)
Set against the usual town, writers and artists come out 1.5 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
5 more, best known first.


No one matches both filters.
4 towns around it have someone on record.
Arnaud Novel (French preacher, cardinal) is the best known by our measure: 8 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Sébastien Descons and Aldo Quaglio.
8 people born in Saverdun have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 11 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, writers and artists: 3 of the 8. That is 38% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.
Arnaud Novel, born in 1201. The youngest on the list was born in 1983.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Saverdun 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.