#1Marcel Bernard
1914–1994French tennis player (1914–1994)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most widely known is Marcel Bernard, the French tennis player, with articles in 17 languages. Alphonse Merrheim and Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier follow. From Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier to Pierre Droulers, the births on the list run from 1848 to 1951. Only 30 of the 279 towns in Nord with anyone on record list more.
By how many languages cover them, Marcel Bernard comes first (17), then Alphonse Merrheim (6) and Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier (6).
#1French tennis player (1914–1994)
#2French copper smith and trade union leader (1871-1925)
#3French sculptor (1848-1930)
More of them were born in the 1910s than in any other ten years, 2 in all.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Writers and artists stand out most, at 1.5 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
8 more names, born between 1863 and 1951.



French publisher, writer and historian (1935–2021)
No one matches both filters.
The most names next door are in Lille: 717.
Lambersart · 2 miJean Baratte & 8 more
Ronchin · 3 miRoger Martin & 5 more
Saint-André-lez-Lille · 1 miPierre Werner & 4 moreMBMons-en-Barœul · 2 miMichel Butor & 4 moreJGMarquette-lez-Lille · 1 miJean Van Gool & 3 moreMarcel Bernard (French tennis player (1914–1994)) is the best known by our measure: 17 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Alphonse Merrheim and Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier.
11 people born in La Madeleine have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 21 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: 4 of the 11. That is 36% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.
Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier, born in 1848. The youngest on the list was born in 1951.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is La Madeleine 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.