#1Roger Piantoni
1931–2018French footballer (1931–2018)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
At the top of the list is the French footballer Roger Piantoni, covered in 29 languages. Second and third on the list are Éric Ferber and Michel Vannier. The largest group, 4, was born between 1914 and 1969. For every 10,000 residents there are 17.8 on the list, well above the typical Meuse town’s 9.6.
Athletes take two of the three places.
#1French footballer (1931–2018)
#2Rugby union player (1931-1991)
The 1930s saw the most births of any decade: 3.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
No other field is as far above the usual share as leaders, at 2.1 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
3 more names, born between 1772 and 1931.
No one matches both filters.
The longest list nearby is Verdun’s, with 27.
Roger Piantoni (French footballer (1931–2018)) is the best known by our measure: 29 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Éric Ferber and Michel Vannier.
6 people born in Étain 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, leaders: 3 of the 6. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.
François Marchand-Collin, born in 1772. The youngest on the list was born in 1961.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Étain 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.