Pope Francis Is Internet's Top Name Of 2013, According To Global Language Monitor Survey

Pope Francis is making the world sit up and take notice with his bold statements and radical shift in tone, and people can't stop talking about him. In fact, he's the most talked-about person of 2013, according to a recent survey by Global Language Monitor.

So whom did he beat out for the top spot? GLM's list of top names includes organizations and programs in their top fifteen for 2013, but here are the most mentioned individuals from their list:

1. Pope Francis

2. Edward Snowden

3. Kate Middleton

4. Ted Cruz

5. Chris Christie

6. Malala Yousufzai

7. Xi Jinping

8. President Obama

9. Hassan Rouhani

Pope Francis also appeared in the "Top Word" category, as his @Pontifex Twitter handle was the fourth most talked about word for 2013.

GLM explained its methodology on the website, saying:

GLM’s Word of the Year rankings are based upon actual word usage throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion people. To qualify for these lists, the words, names, and phrases must be found globally, have a minimum of 25,000 citations. and the requisite ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ of usage. Depth is here defined as appearing in various forms of media; breadth that they must appear world-over, not limited to a particular profession or social group or geography.

h/t to CNN Belief Blog