#1Science & Medicine
Anwar al-Awlaki
1971–2011American-Yemeni imam and suspected Islamist extremist
41 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Las Cruces
Of the 36 famous people born in Las Cruces, an unusual share are writers and artists
With articles in 41 languages, Anwar al-Awlaki is the most widely known. Shawnacy Barber and Edgar Castillo follow. The list is still growing: 17 were born since 1970. Fewer than a quarter of the 95 towns in New Mexico with famous people list more.
Born here
36
notable people
Best known
Anwar al-Awlaki
in 41 Wikipedia languages
First
1896
Bertha M. Paxton
Youngest
1997
Christian Herrera
Most common field
Sports
15 people
Also called it home
2
notable residents
What stands out about Las Cruces’ famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Las Cruces’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1950s, with 8 people born in that decade.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Las Cruces is known for
Compared with the usual town, writers and artists are the most over-represented field, at 1.6 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Las Cruces
By how many languages cover them, Anwar al-Awlaki comes first (41), then Shawnacy Barber (28) and Edgar Castillo (20).
#1
#2
#3Everyone
Everyone else born in Las Cruces
33 more names, born between 1896 and 1997.
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Las Cruces home
Notable people Wikidata lists as living in Las Cruces, though born elsewhere.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Las Cruces?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Your pick
No picks yet
Be the first to say who Las Cruces’ most famous person is.
Or tell us
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The neighbour with the most names is Mesilla, at 3.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Las Cruces and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (15)
- Anwar al-Awlaki: Awlaki_1008.JPG: Muhammad ud-Deen derivative work: Greg A L, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shawnacy Barber: filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edgar Castillo: Hefebreo from Tijuana, Mexico, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aaron Herrera: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Janice McGeachin: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Micah Lawrence: JD Lasica from Pleasanton, CA, US, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jerry Apodaca: White House Photographer Biddle, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lenny Pickett: Daniel Augustine, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Freddy Juarez: Longbomb, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Luis Barraza: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Taylor Lytle: Harvardton, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pamela Burford: Jeff Loeser, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Denise Chavez: AllenS, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Josh Suggs: Strider805, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Campos Guaderrama: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons