# Is there a contemporary family with a greater number of notable members \[than the Gracies\]? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 5, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537 "2011-01-05T21:49:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/1 "2011-01-05T21:49:13Z")
I was just thinking yesterday about how many renowned Gracies there are, so I looked them up in Wikipedia. Not only do they (as a family) have [their own Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracie_family), it lists a whopping 66 members-- more than half of which (38) have their own page. The first family that came to mind as a possible competitor was the Kennedy family, but [their list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_family) is a family tree instead of a list of “notable” members, and it goes back 2 or 3 generations earlier than the Gracie list. That being taken into consideration, it still only lists 60 people. Feel free to use your own criteria for “notable”-- as this isn’t a formal research project, I used the most convenient :). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/2 "2011-01-05T21:55:23Z")
Assuming we’re discounting various royal dynasties, the [Rockefellers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_family) easily have the Gracies and Kennedys beat. Starting with William Avery, there are about 150 members listed, with about 40 linking to other Wikipedia pages, not including spouses. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/3 "2011-01-05T22:05:31Z")
So we have: The Gracies: 66 “notable” and 38 with their own page The Kennedys: 60 listed (genealogy list) and 43 with their own page The Rockefellers: ~150 listed (genealogy list) and ~40 with their own page All pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/4 "2011-01-05T22:10:33Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Assuming we’re discounting various royal dynasties Please do. I would consider them historical, even though they may have relevant living members. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/5 "2011-01-05T22:15:09Z")
Seventy-two Rothschilds have their own page, though it looks like the majority of them have been dead for decades if not over a century, so they are beginning to stretch the definition of contemporary. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/6 "2011-01-05T22:22:35Z")
I don’t think you’re going to find much bigger than that. I’ve racked my brains for equivalent in soccer and the biggest I know of is the Charlton-Milburn family. Jack, George, Jim and Stan Milburn were brothers who played football in the top English League at some point(s) in their careers (which spanned from the late 1920s to the mid 1960s, though they’re largely forgotten today apart from their connection to their more famous relatives. Jackie Milburn was their cousin and he played in the top English League and also for England and was one of the best centre forwards of his day. Jack and Bobby Charlton were the nephews of Jack, George, Jim and Stan Milburn and the two most well-known members of the family and their careers spanned from the earlier 1950s until the mid 1970s. They both played in the English top division and for England and both played in the 1966 World Cup final which England won. Jack Charlton wasone of the best centre-halfs of his day of his day and Bobby Charlton was one of the best players in the World of his day and still considered one of the all-time greats of soccer. Bobby Charlton’s daughter, Suzanne Charlton, is also famous her own right though for reasons entirely unconnected to soccer. She has presented the wetaher on the BBC for many years. That’s 8 Charltons and Milburns (including the non-soccer playing Suzanne) with their own Wikipedia entries. Obviously the Gracie family dwarves that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/7 "2011-01-05T22:31:59Z")
There are a bunch of people in the [Taft family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_family) tree. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/8 "2011-01-05T22:38:44Z")
I think if you looked at Elizabeth II’s family tree you’d probably find a lot of wikipedia entries. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/9 "2011-01-05T22:40:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There are a bunch of people in the [Taft family](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_family) tree. 29 listed, most dead for decades or centuries, some with different last names, some with really contrived relationships like “daughter of Samuel Davenport Torrey; married to her 4th cousin twice removed, Alphonso Taft” (that’s an actual quote). Big, prominent family by any standards, but not holding a candle to the Gracies or Kennedys. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/10 "2011-01-05T22:46:41Z")
The Gracies? Am I the only one who’d never heard of them until now? I mean, I’m sure they’re big in Brazil, but are they really quite as well known as the Kennedys? ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/11 "2011-01-05T22:47:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The Gracies? Am I the only one who’d never heard of them until now? I mean, I’m sure they’re big in Brazil, but are they really quite as well known as the Kennedys? No never heard of them either. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/12 "2011-01-05T22:57:19Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > I think if you looked at Elizabeth II’s family tree you’d probably find a lot of wikipedia entries. I realize that various royal lines are well-documented, going back centuries. I know that there are even Chinese people who can (allegedly) trace their lineage directly back to Confucius. That’s not really what I’m talking about. I’m talking about large numbers of (relatively) current, relevant members of a single family. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The Gracies? Am I the only one who’d never heard of them until now? I mean, I’m sure they’re big in Brazil, but are they really quite as well known as the Kennedys? I dunno. It’s not really a contest of who is more famous, though in Brazil I’m sure the Gracie family is better-known than the Kennedys. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/13 "2011-01-05T23:07:59Z")
What about the Duggar family? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/14 "2011-01-06T00:02:50Z")
Counting Wikipedia entries is not a valid way to measure “notable” people. All it takes is one interested person working on a project to create dozens (or even hundreds) of Wikipedia pages, while fairly well-known people don’t get listed. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > The Gracies? Am I the only one who’d never heard of them until now? I mean, I’m sure they’re big in Brazil, but are they really quite as well known as the Kennedys? No, I’d never heard of them, either. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/15 "2011-01-06T00:10:59Z")
For most notable people in one single family, I’d nominate the [Mitford sisters.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitford_family) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/16 "2011-01-06T00:40:54Z")
Edited title to indicate subject. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/17 "2011-01-06T00:46:54Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I realize that various royal lines are well-documented, going back centuries. I know that there are even Chinese people who can (allegedly) trace their lineage directly back to Confucius. That’s not really what I’m talking about. I’m talking about large numbers of (relatively) current, relevant members of a single family. True, but I still think that if you looked for purely living people the Queen’s family would beat nearly everyone in terms of wikipedia entries. Her and her direct descandants have 13 wikipedia entries by themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/18 "2011-01-06T00:52:33Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:14, topic:566537”] Counting Wikipedia entries is not a valid way to measure “notable” people. All it takes is one interested person working on a project to create dozens (or even hundreds) of Wikipedia pages, while fairly well-known people don’t get listed. [/QUOTE] Theoretically very possible, but excessively unlikely. I happen to know that the families named here are well-known, from sources outside of Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![MaJoGi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MaJoGi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaJoGi)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/19 "2011-01-06T01:11:21Z")
Here are a few choices: Osmans, Kennedys, Bushes (but I don’t think they’re that notable -due to my political party). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537/20 "2011-01-06T01:15:36Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I happen to know that the families named here are well-known, from sources outside of Wikipedia. True, I’ve heard of the Gracies as well, but they are an order of magnitude less well known than the other families mentioned. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-contemporary-family-with-a-greater-number-of-notable-members-than-the-gracies/566537.md?page=2)