These were the most searched topics on Google in 2023

Google posted on monday “The year in searches”, a summary of the top global queries of 2023, ranging from unforgettable pop culture moments (hello, Barbenheimer) to the loss of beloved figures and tragic news with global repercussions.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas topped news trends in 2023, according to Google global data, followed by queries related to the Titanic-bound submersible that imploded in June, as well as the devastating February earthquakes in Turkey and Syria .

Damar Hamlin was the most popular person on Google searches this year. Hamlin, a safety for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, experienced near-death cardiac arrest on the field during a January game, but has since completed a celebrated comeback. He was followed by actor Jeremy Renner, who survived a serious snowplow accident in early 2023. Meanwhile, actor Matthew Perry and singer Tina Turner led search trends among notable people who have died.

In the world of entertainment, “Barbie” dominated Google’s movie search trends this year, followed by its fellow Barbenheimer “Oppenheimer” and the Indian thriller “Jawan.” In TV, “The Last of Us”, “Wednesday” and “Ginny and Georgia” were the three most trending programs in 2023.

“The song (Idol)” by Yoasobi was the one with the highest trend in Google searches. “Try That In A Small Town” by Jason Aldean, which shot up the charts after controversy this summer, and “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Argentine DJ and producer Bizarrap with Colombian star Shakira followed.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of Google’s global search trends for 2023. Bibimbap was the top trending recipe. Inter Miami CF, the new home of Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi, led Google’s sports team trends. And in the United States specifically, many consumers spent 2023 wondering why eggs, Taylor Swift tickets, and bottles of Sriracha were so expensive, while “rizz” (recently named Oxford’s word of the year), which in English means the ability to charm or seduce, was a favorite in queries about fashion slang definitions.

You can find more data, including country-specific lists and trends from previous years, in the archive “The year in searches” of Google. The company, based in California, says it collected its 2023 search results from January 1 to November 27 of this year.

Google isn’t the only one releasing annual data as 2023 draws to a close, and from dictionary searches to music streaming services, you’ve likely seen other lists summarizing online activity this year. Last week, for example, Wikipedia published its year-end list of most viewed entries, with its ChatGPT article at the top.

To commemorate the search engine’s 25th birthday, Google also published the most important search data “of all times” in several specific categories. Since 2004 (when the company’s trend data first became available globally), the most Googled Grammy winner of all time has been Beyoncé, while Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is the most searched athlete and The most searched movie or television series cast is “Harry Potter”.