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Famous people · Caen, Calvados

366 famous people were born in Caen, more of them musicians than in most towns

At the top of the list is the French composer Daniel François Esprit Auber, covered in 53 languages. Second place goes to the French footballer Benoît Costil, third to Youssef El-Arabi. Between 1914 and 1969, 111 were born, the most of any period. No other town in Calvados lists as many.

#2 best knownBenoît CostilSports · born 1987
+362more
Born here
366
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Daniel François Esprit Auber
53 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1394
Jean Soreth
Youngest
2005
Alex Lanier
Most common field
Sports
88 people

What stands out about Caen’s famous people

★ What stands out · The best known

Born in Caen

Athletes take two of the three places.

DA#1
Music

Daniel François Esprit Auber

1782–1871

French composer (1782-1871)

53 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Benoît Costil#2
Sports

Benoît Costil

born 1987

French footballer (born 1987)

38 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Youssef El-Arabi#3
Sports

Youssef El-Arabi

born 1987

Moroccan footballer

31 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years

When Caen’s famous people were born

Count by decade and the 1980s come out on top, with 47 births.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to Empire1400150016001700180019002000Benoît Costil
SportsWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageMusicMilitaryNotableFaithBusiness

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Known for

What Caen is known for

No other field is as far above the usual share as musicians, at 1.5 times.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Caen

363 more; the 197 best known are listed here.

Pierre Kœnig

Pierre Kœnig

1898–1970

French general and politician (1898-1970)

BM

Bruno Massot

born 1989

French-born German figure skater

André Danjon

André Danjon

1890–1967

French astronomer (1890–1967)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
LC

Lucie Castets

born 1987

French teacher, civil servant and political activist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
PH

Pierre-Daniel Huet

1630–1721

French churchman and scholar (1630–1721)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Charles Longuet

Charles Longuet

1839–1903

French politician (1839-1903)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
J. Hector St John de Crèvecoeur

J. Hector St John de Crèvecoeur

1735–1813

French writer (1735-1813)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
EG

Elliot Grandin

born 1987

French footballer (born 1987)

Pierre-Simon Girard

Pierre-Simon Girard

1765–1836

French mathematician and engineer

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
FD

Fabrice Divert

born 1967

French association football player

Jean Regnault de Segrais

Jean Regnault de Segrais

1624–1701

French poet and novelist (1624-1701)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Jean-Pierre Jaussaud

Jean-Pierre Jaussaud

1937–2021

French racing driver (1937–2021)

Damien Fleury

Damien Fleury

born 1986

French ice hockey player

LA

Laure Adler

born 1950

French journalist and publisher

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Roger Grenier

Roger Grenier

1919–2017

French writer, journalist and radio animator (1919–2017)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
NM

Nina Meurisse

born 1986

French actress

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Olivier Baroux

Olivier Baroux

born 1964

French actor, humorist and film director

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
AC

Alexandre-Étienne Choron

1771–1834

French musician (1771-1834)

Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson

born 1964

French-Swiss DJ, record producer and radio presenter

Hippolyte-Victor Collet-Descotils

Hippolyte-Victor Collet-Descotils

1773–1815

French chemist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Of the towns nearby, 8 have famous names listed.

Questions about famous people from Caen

Who is the most famous person from Caen?

Daniel François Esprit Auber (French composer (1782-1871)) is the best known by our measure: 53 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Benoît Costil and Youssef El-Arabi.

How many famous people were born in Caen?

366 people born in Caen have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 554 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.

What is Caen known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 88 of the 366. That is 24% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Caen?

Jean Soreth, born in 1394. The youngest on the list was born in 2005.

Who counts as from Caen?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Caen 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.

Why is someone missing?

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).

Photo credits (97)

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.