New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani topped the list of Google’s most searched people in the United States this year, with Erika Kirk and people related to her husband’s assassination also making the list.
1. Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani, 34, won New York’s mayoral election in November, making him the first Muslim elected to the city’s mayoral mansion and the second-youngest person to lead the Big Apple after Hugh Grant, who was elected mayor in 1888 at 30 years old.
Mamdani’s victory has largely been attributed to his campaign’s social media presence, appeal to younger voters, and affordability. He beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, in an upset victory in the Democratic Party’s primary in June, and went on to beat Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in November.
2. Tyler Robinson
Robinson was identified as the suspected shooter in Charlie Kirk’s assassination shortly after the Turning Point USA co-founder was killed on Sept. 10. He was apprehended the next day after his family turned him in in St. George, Utah, where he had been living with Lance Twiggs, his transgender partner.
Robinson was set to have his hearing on Oct. 30, but it was postponed to Jan. 16 and Jan. 30, 2026.
3. D4vd
Musician D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, became a suspect in the death of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas-Hernandez, whose body was found inside his Tesla in September. Investigators believe D4vd played a role in Rivas-Hernandez’s death and received help in disposing of her body, according to a KABC report in November.
D4vd canceled his Withered World Tour in mid-September, about a month after it began in Del Mar, California. He was scheduled to perform in San Francisco on Sept. 19 and Los Angeles on Sept. 20 before the tour’s cancellation, according to USA Today.
4. Erika Kirk
Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, became a national focus after her husband’s murder. She said she has forgiven the alleged killer and plans to expand Turning Point USA. Her husband’s assassination was the most-searched death in the U.S. this year, and was also the third-most-searched news story of 2025.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” she said at her husband’s funeral in mid-September. “On the cross, our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it is what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
She has also defended the recent infighting among Republican lawmakers and influencers, saying these arguments are “uncomfortable and riling things up” but are ultimately “healthy.”
5. Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV made history this year after he became the first American pope. Leo is from Chicago and joined the order of St. Augustine in 1997, later obtaining degrees from the Catholic Theological Union and the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Since becoming pope, Leo has shared his stance on the Trump administration’s deportations, asking it to “respect human beings.” He has also been in communication with the U.S. and Israel regarding “sustainable peace” in the Middle East.
6. Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders, a rookie quarterback and son of NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, received President Donald Trump’s support after not being picked by any of the 32 NFL teams in the first draft round in April. Trump slammed NFL owners for possibly being “STUPID” in initially passing on Sanders, who he said has “PHENOMENAL GENES” from his father.
The Cleveland Browns drafted the rookie, who helped the team defeat the Las Vegas Raiders in November. He expressed gratitude for Trump’s support after the game, saying the president has “definitely been a supporter for a minute.”
7. Bonnie Blue
Pornography actress Bonnie Blue, whose real name is Tia Billinger, went viral in January after she said she slept with over 1,000 men over the course of 12 hours, according to Complex. Her viral fame has since spawned a documentary, 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, which was released in July, according to the Guardian.
Blue was arrested on Thursday in Bali, Indonesia, after she and over a dozen men were allegedly caught making pornographic material. She will be summoned for an interview with Bali immigration officials within the next two days, according to the Daily Mail.
8. Karoline Leavitt
Trump nominated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt before his inauguration, making her the youngest person to hold the position at 27. During her debut press briefing in late January, Leavitt announced that the White House would restore press passes to 440 journalists “whose passes were wrongly revoked by the previous administration.”
Leavitt ran for a congressional seat in New Hampshire in the 2022 election cycle and later worked on Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign before landing her current position.
9. Andy Byron
Former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron started a viral meme in July after he was caught embracing someone who was not his wife at a Coldplay concert. The kiss cam caught Byron with human resources executive Kristin Cabot, prompting him to duck out of the camera’s view and Cabot to turn around.
“Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy,” Coldplay’s Chris Martin joked about Byron and Cabot’s reaction.
While Byron resigned from his position at the technology company shortly after the concert, it did not stop the on-camera moment from being recreated at numerous sports events. Astronomer also leaned into the viral moment, hiring actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to Martin for 13 years, as a company spokeswoman.
10. Jimmy Kimmel
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show hit a speed bump this year after it was briefly pulled in mid-September for comments regarding Kirk’s assassination. Jimmy Kimmel Live! was pulled after Kimmel implied, against evidence, that Kirk’s alleged assassin was a conservative, and the “MAGA gang” sought to characterize the suspect “as anything other than one of them.”
Kimmel’s show returned to the airwaves just under a week later. Upon his return, he praised Kirk’s wife’s decision to forgive the alleged assassin. Kimmel said her words moved him and that she is someone “we should follow.”
