BOSTON — The Celtics were among the most searched sports teams on Google this year, according to newly released data. Banner 18 took the fourth spot in Google’s “Year in Search 2024″ list, just behind the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets.
The “Year in Search” lists are Google’s annual look at the trillions of searches performed throughout the year. The company breaks searches out by categories, which can reveal interesting trends.
This year, the U.S. election was the most searched topic overall. In the “People” category, political candidates reigned supreme. President-elect Donald Trump was the most searched person on Google, followed by Vice President Kamala Harris, Ohio Senator JD Vance, and President Joe Biden.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, was the fifth most-searched person, just above Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The hurricanes that devastated Florida and parts of the Southeast U.S. were also of major interest to Google users.
“We always see some sort of natural disaster in the top news search,” says Google trends expert Justin Burr. “Not only are people trying to figure out how to stay safe, a lot of people search afterward to see how they can help.”
Taylor Swift was on the list for most searched songs, but not number one. That honor went to Kendrick Lamar. His songs “Not Like Us” and “Meet the Grahams” took the first and second spots, respectively.
“That one’s interesting because not only were people trying to listen to the music, but they were trying to figure out what’s the beef going on,” Burr said.
Both of Lamar’s songs reference this year’s feud with Canadian rapper Drake.
“Taylor Swift, Beyonce, some of these individuals are trending every single year at a really high rate,” Burr says. “But what we want to do in the ‘Year in Search’ is look at what makes 2024 unique compared to other years.”
As for what the last 12 months of searches may tell us about the next 12 months, Burr says it’s hard to know.
“If there’s anything we learn from this, it’s that it’s very unpredictable,” Burr says. “If you look at Mike Tyson, he’s the number one trending athlete in 2024. Two years ago… you would never think Mike Tyson.”
Here’s a list of some of the top Google search trends across specific categories:
Searches
1. Election
2. Donald Trump
3. Connections
4. New York Yankees
5. Kamala Harris
6. Copa América
7. Hurricane Milton tracker
8. Olympic medal count
9. Toby Keith
10. Liam Payne
News
1. Election
2. Copa América
3. Olympics
4. Hurricane Milton
5. Paralympics
6. Project 2025
7. Trump shot
8. House election results
9. Heat advisory
10. Hurricane Helene
People
1. Donald Trump
2. Kamala Harris
3. JD Vance
4. Joe Biden
5. Catherine, Princess of Wales
6. Tim Walz
7. Mike Tyson
8. Jill Stein
9. Usher
10. Imane Khelif
Passings
1. Toby Keith
2. Liam Payne
3. O. J. Simpson
4. James Earl Jones
5. Rich Homie Quan
6. Thomas Ma
7. Shannen Doherty
8. Carl Weathers
9. Richard Simmons
10. Maggie Smith
Athletes
1. Mike Tyson
2. Imane Khelif
3. Simone Biles
4. Scottie Scheffler
5. Jake Paul
6. Anthony Edwards
7. Caitlin Clark
8. Harrison Butker
9. Jordan Chiles
10. Brandon Aiyuk
Movies
1. Inside Out 2
2. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
3. It Ends with Us
4. Saltburn
5. Dune: Part Two
6. Twisters
7. Deadpool & Wolverine
8. Despicable Me 4
9. Terrifier 3
10. Alien: Romulus
Musicians
1. Usher
2. Diddy
3. Kendrick Lamar
4. Drake
5. Justin Timberlake
6. Ingrid Andress
7. Sabrina Carpenter
8. Drake Bell
9. Chappell Roan
10. Tracy Chapman
Songs
1. Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar
2. meet the grahams - Kendrick Lamar
3. Thick Of It - KSI
4. Euphoria - Kendrick Lamar
5. Fast Car - Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs
6. Houdini - Eminem
7. yes, and? - Ariana Grande
8. But Daddy I Love Him - Taylor Swift
9. Espresso – Sabrina Carpenter
10. Please Please Please – Sabrina Carpenter
Sports Teams
1. New York Yankees
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. New York Mets
4. Boston Celtics
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Dallas Mavericks
7. Indiana Fever
8. Indiana Pacers
9. San Diego Padres
10. Cleveland Guardians
Internet theories
1. Burnt toast theory
2. Orange peel theory
3. October theory
4. Invisible string theory
5. Taxi cab theory
6. Birth order dating theory
7. Let them theory
8. Men’s first love theory
9. Ladder theory
10. Blue nail theory
TV Shows
1. Griselda
2. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
3. Baby Reindeer
4. Fallout
5. The Perfect Couple
6. Shōgun
7. Fool Me Once
8. Nobody Wants This
9. House of the Dragon
10. Your Honor
Is ... a real word?
1. Demure
2. Beaut
3. Sigma
4. Funner
5. Skibidi
6. Learnt
7. Unserious
8. Brolic
9. Gonna
10. Rizz
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