These Are the Most Wikipedia-ed Names in Massachusetts
People are really curious about John Cena.
Photo via Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Ever wanted to know a little more about wrestler turned actor John Cena, West Newbury’s finest export? You’re not alone. According to a “People Map of the United States” created by visual journalism site the Pudding, John Cena is the name in West Newbury most often looked up on Wikipedia. The data was gathered from searches between July 2015 and May 2019, and the map is laid out so that “city names are replaced by their most Wikipedia’ed resident: people born in, lived in, or connected to a place.” The popularity was based on the “the thousands of “People from X city” pages on Wikipedia,” per their methodology details.
The data is organized by town, so while Cena’s name pops up for West Newbury, actress Bette Davis comes up for Dennis and President Kennedy is Barnstable’s most popular former resident. Cena also comes up for Boston itself (sorry, Afflecks and Wahlbergs), while actress Uma Thurman is Amherst’s most searched resident, Friends fans keep looking up Williamstown’s Matthew Perry, and pop singer Meghan Trainor comes up for Nantucket. And yes, accused murderer Lizzie Borden took top honors for Fall River.
The map is a fascinating glimpse at the morbidly curious—Borden is not the only infamous name to pop up, as well-known murder victim the Black Dahlia (real name Elizabeth Short, and subject of much pop cultural fascination) populates for Medford. And yes, Whitey Bulger is the biggest name for South Boston.
Given the Bay State’s propensity for churning out celebrities, the map is as interesting for who isn’t listed as for who is. For instance, the most looked up name for celebrity-packed Newton is Priyanka Chopra, who only briefly attended high school there (and had a miserable time).
The map’s quite responsive, so you can zoom in and out and look at all angles. And yes, singer Jewel remains the most searched person from Homer, Alaska.
