The best memes of 2024 were, unusually, mostly about people. A woman in Nashville giving sex advice on a street interview, a breakdancer at the Olympics, a pygmy hippo in Thailand, a beauty creator doing her makeup for work, and two of the biggest rappers alive trying to end each other's careers. It was the last year before AI video took over the feed, and it shows. Here are the 40 best memes of 2024, ranked, with origins and whether they survived.
Same rules as always: ranked by impact, origin month and platform where known, status from the dictionary.
The 40 best memes of 2024
1. Hawk Tuah
In June 2024 a street-interview channel in Nashville asked a young woman what move makes a man go crazy in bed. Her answer, delivered with a spit sound effect, became the year's catchphrase. Hawk Tuah made Hailey Welch famous, put her on a podcast, and ended in December with a trading-chat launch that collapsed and made her a cautionary tale. Status: dead.
2. Brat Summer
Charli XCX released "Brat" on 7 June 2024 and its lime-green cover became the visual identity of the season. Brat Summer gave the internet a colour, an adjective and, after "kamala IS brat" in July, a political aesthetic. Collins made "brat" word of the year. Status: dead, honourably.
3. Very Demure
Jools Lebron's early-August TikTok about her understated work makeup gave the year its most quoted line. Very Demure went from a joke to a trademark fight to a Verizon ad in about four weeks and was over by Christmas. Dictionary.com's word of the year. Status: dead.
4. Chill Guy
A dog in a grey sweater and jeans, hands in pockets, drawn by artist Phillip Banks in 2023. In November 2024 Chill Guy became the year's last big meme: "my new character is a chill guy who lowkey doesn't give a f." Banks spent December fighting trading chats over his drawing. Status: dead.
5. Moo Deng
A pygmy hippo born in July 2024 at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, whose name means "bouncy pork", went global in September for biting her keepers and screaming. Moo Deng was the year's animal, followed by a very long queue of others. Status: dead.
6. Kendrick-Drake Beef
The rap feud of the decade played out in real time through April and May 2024 and ended, more or less, with "Not Like Us" on 4 May. The Kendrick–Drake Beef produced BBL Drizzy, the first AI-generated diss beat to matter, and a Super Bowl halftime show the following February. Not Like Us is now a wedding song. Status: alive.
7. Raygun
Rachael Gunn, an Australian breaker competing at the Paris Olympics in August 2024, scored zero points with a routine that included a kangaroo hop. Raygun became the Games' most discussed athlete and a symbol for confident mediocrity. Status: dead.
8. Man in Finance
"I'm looking for a man in finance, trust fund, six-five, blue eyes." Megan Boni posted the a cappella clip in April 2024, producers remixed it, and by June it was a club record. The Man in Finance was the year's earworm. Status: dead.
9. Skibidi Toilet
The 2023 YouTube series about heads in toilets fighting camera-headed men reached full saturation in 2024: a film deal, the word "skibidi" in every playground, and the term "brainrot" attached to it. Skibidi Toilet was Gen Alpha's first big meme. Status: dying.
10. Mewing
Tongue on the roof of your mouth, jawline improved, allegedly. Mewing spread from looksmaxxing forums to TikTok in late 2023 and became a schoolroom gesture in 2024: finger to lips, hand tracing the jaw, "I can't talk, I'm mewing." Part of the wider Looksmaxxing moment. Status: dying.
11. Apple Dance
Kelley Heyer's hand choreography for Charli XCX's "Apple", from June 2024, was the dance of the summer and later a licensing case study. Apple Dance was performed by Charli on tour and by everyone else in their kitchens. Status: dead.
12. Kamala Coconut Tree
"You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" A 2023 Kamala Harris speech clip became a remix genre in July 2024 the moment she became the presumptive nominee. The Kamala Coconut Tree was the campaign's meme peak. Status: dead.
13. Gen Z Boss and a Mini
An Australian skincare company's staff video, posted in August 2024, in which a Gen Z boss and her team introduce themselves in rhyming chants, became the year's most dunked-on corporate content. Gen Z Boss and a Mini was parodied by every office on earth. Status: dead.
14. Costco Guys
A father and son from Florida who rate Costco products on a "boom" scale. Costco Guys and Big Justice went viral in mid-2024, got a WWE appearance and a lot of concern about whether the kid was OK. Status: dying.
15. Pesto the Penguin
A king penguin chick at Melbourne's Sea Life aquarium who weighed more than both his parents by nine months old. Pesto the Penguin was September 2024's second-biggest animal and the more wholesome one. Status: dead.
16. Peanut the Squirrel
A pet squirrel in New York was seized and euthanised by state authorities in late October 2024, days before the election, and briefly became a political martyr. Peanut the Squirrel was the year's strangest news cycle and a trading-chat disaster. Status: dead.
17. Olympic Muffin
Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen's Paris Olympics TikToks about the chocolate muffins in the athletes' village were the Games' best content. The Olympic Muffin got its own fan accounts. Status: dead.
18. Pommel Horse Guy
Stephen Nedoroscik, the American gymnast with glasses who sat quietly for hours and then nailed his one event to clinch a team bronze. Pommel Horse Guy was the Olympics' nerd hero and later a "Dancing with the Stars" finalist. Status: dead.
19. Turkish Shooter
Yusuf Dikeç won silver in air pistol at Paris 2024 with no special equipment, one hand in his pocket, and the expression of a man collecting a parcel. The Turkish Shooter pose was copied by athletes for the rest of the Games. Status: dead.
20. Pole Vault Guy
Anthony Ammirati, a French pole vaulter, was knocked out of the Olympics when a specific part of his body clipped the bar. The Pole Vault Guy clip was the Games' most replayed. Status: dead.
21. Ilona Maher
The American rugby sevens player became the Olympics' breakout star for her TikToks about body image and her post-bronze celebrations. Ilona Maher went on to "Dancing with the Stars" and English club rugby. Status: alive.
22. Eye of Rah
A photo of a young man with a slightly unsettling eye, captioned as if it were an ancient symbol. Eye of Rah was the year's best absurdist image meme, from late 2024. Status: dead.
23. Freakbob
SpongeBob's face edited into a hollow-eyed leer, calling you on the phone. Freakbob was the 2024 successor to the "uncanny" edits of 2021. Status: dead.
24. Just Put the Fries in the Bag
The reply to anyone over-sharing or over-explaining in a service context, from a viral drive-through clip in 2024. Just Put the Fries in the Bag became the year's standard dismissal. Status: alive.
25. Low Taper Fade
In January 2024 a musician posted "imagine if Ninja got a low taper fade" and the streamer actually did. The Low Taper Fade was the year's longest-running bit, still "massive" by December. Status: dead.
26. What's Up Brother
Streamer Sketch's greeting, with a thumbs-up and a "special teams" chant, was everywhere in spring 2024, especially among baseball fans. What's Up Brother survived a personal scandal in July that the internet mostly shrugged at. Status: dying.
27. Willy's Chocolate Experience
A Glasgow warehouse event in February 2024 that promised a Wonka wonderland and delivered a few plastic props and a sad actor. Willy's Chocolate Experience gave the world The Unknown, a villain nobody had heard of, and the year's best failure. Status: dead.
28. Lookalike Contest
A Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest in New York in October 2024 drew a crowd, police, and the actual Timothée Chalamet. Lookalike Contests for every celebrity followed through the winter. Status: dying.
29. Bluesky Migration
After the US election in November 2024, millions of X users moved to Bluesky in a fortnight. The Bluesky Migration was the year's platform story, complete with starter packs and a lot of pictures of skies. Status: dead as a meme, alive as a website.
30. Chopsticks Catch
On 13 October 2024 SpaceX caught a returning rocket booster with the launch tower's arms. The Chopsticks Catch was the year's most shared engineering clip. Status: dead.
31. Oiia Cat
A cat spinning in a chair, set to a warbling "oiia oiia" sound from an older video. Oiia Cat was 2024's cat, in the tradition of Vibing Cat and Huh Cat. Status: dead.
32. Glue on Pizza
Google's AI search summaries launched in May 2024 and immediately told people to put glue on pizza to keep the cheese on. Glue on Pizza became the shorthand for AI confidently repeating a Reddit joke. Status: dead.
33. Shrimp Jesus
AI-generated images of Jesus made of shrimp, or of crabs, or of a plane, flooded Facebook in early 2024 with captions begging for amens. Shrimp Jesus was the face of AI Slop and the year "slop" became the word. Status: dead.
34. Hot Rodent Boyfriend
In spring 2024 the internet decided that Jeremy Allen White, Barry Keoghan and Timothée Chalamet were "rodent men" and that this was attractive. The Hot Rodent Boyfriend was the year's most memorable taxonomy. Status: dead.
35. Espresso
Sabrina Carpenter's April 2024 single was the song of the summer and "that's that me espresso" the lyric of the year. Espresso launched a pop era. Status: alive.
36. HOT TO GO!
Chappell Roan's cheerleader-style spelling song became a stadium chant and a Pride staple in 2024. HOT TO GO! was the year's best arms-in-the-air moment. Status: alive.
37. Birds of a Feather
Billie Eilish's May 2024 single became TikTok's default sound for friendship, romance and pets. Birds of a Feather was the year's most-used audio. Status: alive.
38. Joker 2 Flop
"Joker: Folie à Deux" opened in October 2024 to a D CinemaScore and instant meme status. The Joker 2 Flop was the year's biggest cinematic faceplant and a lot of people's favourite thing about October. Status: dead.
39. Cucumber Guy
Logan Moffitt eats an entire cucumber, sliced with a mandoline, in a deli container, every day. The Cucumber Guy caused a cucumber shortage in Iceland in August 2024. Status: dying.
40. Dubai Chocolate
A pistachio and kadayif filled bar from a Dubai chocolatier became the world's most sought-after snack in 2024 through TikTok taste tests. Dubai Chocolate caused a global pistachio shortage the following year. Status: dying.
Honourable mentions
Man vs Bear in April. Saltburn Bathwater in January. The Dune Popcorn Bucket in March. Million Dollar Baby as the dance of the spring. The Cardboard Beds of the Olympic village. Mob Wife in the winter and Winter Arc at the end. Sigma Boy, What the Sigma and Freaky for the classrooms. Big Back and Chopped Chin for the comment sections. Ozempic Santa for December. And Labubu, which started here and owned the following year.
FAQ
What was the biggest meme of 2024?
Hawk tuah, from a June street interview in Nashville, was the year's most quoted phrase. Brat summer was its most influential aesthetic and very demure its most commercial.
Which memes of 2024 are still alive?
Not Like Us, Just Put the Fries in the Bag, Espresso, HOT TO GO!, Birds of a Feather and Ilona Maher are still in use. Most of the catchphrases died within months.
Why were there so many Olympic memes in 2024?
The Paris Games in July and August were the first Olympics where athletes were all posting to TikTok from the village, so the memes came from the inside: muffins, cardboard beds, and the pommel horse guy.
