The greatest internet memes of all time are the ones that changed how people talk, not just what they laughed at for a week. This list ranks 100 of them, from the Dancing Baby of 1996 to the brainrot of 2025, by three things: how far they spread, how long they lasted, and how much they left behind. Some are dead and honoured; some are thirty years old and still in daily use. Each entry gets origin year and platform, and the dictionary's current verdict on whether it is alive.
Two rules. One entry per meme, so "Doge" is here but not all his children separately. And catchphrases count as memes if the internet made them, which is why a 1987 pop song is at number one.
The 100 greatest internet memes, ranked
1. Rickroll
Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (1987) became the internet's greatest prank in May 2007, when 4chan users swapped it in for a promised Grand Theft Auto trailer, evolving the earlier duckroll. The Rickroll has survived every platform shift, been performed live at the Macy's parade, deployed by the White House and by Astley himself, and is still funny because it is harmless. It is the only meme that is older than the web and younger every year. Status: alive.
2. Doge
A photo of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, taken by her owner Atsuko Sato in February 2010, became the meme of 2013 with Comic Sans captions: such wow, very meme. Doge gave the internet a grammar, a decade of variants (Cheems, Swole Doge, Walter) and the template for every animal that came after. Kabosu died in May 2024 and got a statue. Status: undead, meaning it will never fully go away.
3. Pepe the Frog
Matt Furie drew Pepe in the comic "Boy's Club" in 2005; 4chan turned "feels good man" into a reaction image by 2008 and then into a whole emotional vocabulary. Pepe the Frog was declared a hate symbol in 2016, reclaimed by Hong Kong protesters in 2019, and is still the face of every Twitch emote. No image has had a stranger life. Status: undead.
4. Lolcat
Cats with misspelled captions, born in 4chan's Caturday threads around 2006 and industrialised by I Can Has Cheezburger in January 2007. The Lolcat taught the internet that the picture plus the caption is the joke, which is the basis of everything on this list after it. Status: dead, but its grammar is everywhere.
5. All Your Base Are Belong to Us
A badly translated line from the 1991 Mega Drive game "Zero Wing", discovered on Something Awful in 1998 and turned into a music video in 2001 in which the phrase was photoshopped onto every surface on earth. All Your Base Are Belong to Us was the first meme to cross from forums into newspapers and the first proof that the internet could make a joke out of nothing. Status: dead, revered.
6. Trollface
Carlos Ramirez drew it in Microsoft Paint in September 2008 for a rage comic about trolling. Trollface became the logo of an era, appeared on merchandise worldwide, and gave the Rage Comic its most famous face. Ramirez actually licensed it and made real money, which almost never happens. Status: dead, iconic.
7. Distracted Boyfriend
A 2015 stock photo by Antonio Guillem of a man checking out a passing woman while his girlfriend glares, labelled in August 2017 to represent every temptation in history. Distracted Boyfriend is the perfect object-labelling meme and the most-used template of the 2010s. Status: alive.
8. Harambe
A gorilla shot at Cincinnati Zoo on 28 May 2016 after a child fell into his enclosure. The internet's grief was sincere for a week and then became the most sustained ironic mourning campaign ever, lasting through the whole of that election year. Harambe is the meme that made 2016 feel like 2016. Status: dead, remembered.
9. Gangnam Style
Psy's July 2012 video became the first thing on YouTube to reach a billion views, broke the site's counter, and put a horse dance in every school assembly on earth. Gangnam Style was the last pre-TikTok global dance craze. Status: dead.
10. Wojak
A bald, sad MS Paint man posted on the Polish board of Krautchan around 2010 by a user called "wojak". The Wojak became the feels guy, then the NPC, the doomer, the soyjak, and an entire cast of characters for describing every human type. Status: alive.
11. Dancing Baby
A 3D animated baby doing a cha-cha, rendered in 1996 as a demo for Character Studio software and passed around by email before "viral" was a word. The Dancing Baby appeared on "Ally McBeal" in 1998 and is generally counted as the first internet meme. Status: dead, founding.
12. Grumpy Cat
Tardar Sauce, a cat with feline dwarfism and a permanent scowl, was posted to Reddit in September 2012 and became the most famous animal on earth within a year. Grumpy Cat had a film, a manager and an endorsement deal; she died in May 2019. Status: dead.
13. Nyan Cat
A Pop-Tart cat with a rainbow trail, animated by Christopher Torres in April 2011 and set to a Japanese Vocaloid song. Nyan Cat was the internet's screensaver for a year and later a very expensive digital collectible. Status: undead.
14. Keyboard Cat
Fatso, filmed by Charlie Schmidt in 1984, uploaded in 2007, and turned into the "play him off" punchline for every fail video in 2009. Keyboard Cat was the first meme to be a format rather than an image. Status: dead.
15. This Is Fine
KC Green's 2013 "Gunshow" comic of a dog drinking coffee in a burning room. This Is Fine was adopted around 2014 as the image for every institution pretending everything is normal, and has been relevant every single year since. Status: alive.
16. Skibidi Toilet
DaFuq!?Boom!'s YouTube series, from February 2023, about singing heads in toilets and camera-headed men. Skibidi Toilet was the first meme entirely owned by children born after 2010, and the word "skibidi" is on this list because a generation's slang starts here. Status: dying.
17. Success Kid
Sammy Griner, aged eleven months, clutching sand with a determined fist on a beach in August 2007. Success Kid was the "advice animal" for small victories, and the photo later helped pay for his father's kidney transplant. Status: dying.
18. Hide the Pain Harold
András Arató, a Hungarian engineer, posed for stock photos in 2011 with a smile that did not reach his eyes. Hide the Pain Harold became the face of quiet suffering and, eventually, a beloved public figure who tours giving talks about it. Status: alive.
19. Drake Hotline Bling
Two frames from the October 2015 video: Drake recoiling, Drake approving. Drake Hotline Bling is the most efficient comparison format ever made and still the default for "no this, yes that". Status: alive.
20. Woman Yelling at a Cat
Taylor Armstrong crying at a 2011 "Real Housewives" dinner, spliced in 2019 next to Smudge the cat sitting at a table with a plate of salad. Woman Yelling at a Cat is the best two-panel argument ever assembled. Status: alive.
21. Hamster Dance
A page of animated hamsters dancing to a sped-up Roger Miller clip, made by Deidre LaCarte in 1998. Hamster Dance was the first meme with a URL people typed in from memory. Status: dead.
22. Star Wars Kid
Ghyslain Raza filmed himself swinging a golf-ball retriever like a lightsaber in 2002; classmates uploaded it in 2003 and it became the most-watched video of the pre-YouTube era. Star Wars Kid is also the first lesson in what virality does to a person. Status: dead.
23. Numa Numa
Gary Brolsma lip-syncing O-Zone's "Dragostea din tei" in his chair, posted to Newgrounds in December 2004. Numa Numa was the first webcam video to make a normal person famous, and he handled it better than most. Status: dead.
24. Leeroy Jenkins
A World of Warcraft raid ruined in May 2005 by a player charging in shouting his own name. Leeroy Jenkins became a Blizzard card, a Jeopardy clue and the word for reckless enthusiasm. Status: alive.
25. Chuck Norris Facts
Chuck Norris does not sleep, he waits. The Chuck Norris Facts of 2005 were the first meme built entirely of one-line jokes and the last time the internet agreed on a single celebrity. Status: dead.
26. O RLY?
A snowy owl photograph captioned with a sceptical question, popular on 4chan and forums from 2003. O RLY? and its reply "YA RLY" were the first reaction-image pair. Status: dead.
27. Badger Badger Badger
Weebl's looping Flash animation of dancing badgers, a mushroom and a snake, from 2003. Badger Badger Badger was the anthem of the Flash era. Status: dead.
28. Peanut Butter Jelly Time
A dancing banana and a Buckwheat Boyz song, animated in 2002 and everywhere by 2005, including on "Family Guy". Peanut Butter Jelly Time. Status: dead.
29. Mahir
"I kiss you!" A Turkish man's personal homepage, discovered in 1999 and passed around the world, made Mahir Çağrı the first accidental internet celebrity. Mahir predates every social network. Status: dead.
30. Longcat
A long white cat held vertically, posted to 2ch in 2006 and made into an infinite creature on 4chan. Longcat is long; that was the whole joke, and it worked for a decade. Status: dead.
31. Ceiling Cat
A cat peering through a hole in a ceiling, captioned "Ceiling Cat is watching you", from 2006. Ceiling Cat became the lolcat deity and got his own Bible translation. Status: dead.
32. Chocolate Rain
Tay Zonday's April 2007 song, delivered in a baritone while moving away from the mic to breathe in. Chocolate Rain was YouTube's first true homegrown hit. Status: dead.
33. Charlie Bit My Finger
A May 2007 home video of two English brothers, one biting. Charlie Bit My Finger was the most-watched YouTube video for years and was sold as a digital collectible in 2021. Status: dead.
34. Advice Dog
A puppy on a rainbow background giving terrible advice, from 2006. Advice Dog started the whole advice-animal genre, including Philosoraptor (2008) and Socially Awkward Penguin (2009). Status: dead.
35. Disaster Girl
Zoë Roth smirking in front of a burning house in 2005, memed from 2008 as the face of arson-level satisfaction. Disaster Girl sold the original photo in 2021 and paid off her student loans. Status: dying.
36. Loss
A June 2008 "Ctrl+Alt+Del" webcomic about a miscarriage, so tonally off that the internet reduced it to four panels of lines. Loss is the deepest inside joke ever made; you either see it or you do not. Status: alive.
37. It's Over 9000
Vegeta's scouter reading, from a Dragon Ball Z dub, posted to YouTube in 2006. It's Over 9000 was the first anime meme to reach people who had never watched anime. Status: dying.
38. The Cake Is a Lie
Scrawled on the walls of "Portal" in 2007, The Cake Is a Lie became the gaming phrase for a promise that will not be kept. Status: dead.
39. Do Not Want
A bootleg Chinese subtitle for Darth Vader's "Nooo!", discovered in 2005. Do Not Want was the era's most useful two words. Status: dead.
40. Double Rainbow
A man in Yosemite weeping at a double rainbow in a January 2010 video that went viral that July. Double Rainbow asked what it means and never found out. Status: dead.
41. Bed Intruder
Antoine Dodson's July 2010 local-news interview, autotuned by the Gregory Brothers into a Billboard hit. Bed Intruder was the peak of the remix-the-news era. Status: dead.
42. Old Spice Guy
Isaiah Mustafa's February 2010 ad, "the man your man could smell like", and the personalised video replies that followed. Old Spice Guy is the only ad campaign that was genuinely a meme. Status: dead.
43. Y U No
A rage face borrowed from a manga, captioned in 2010 with the eternal question. Y U No and Me Gusta were the two most-used rage faces after Trollface. Status: dead.
44. Forever Alone
A crying rage face for loneliness, from 2010. Forever Alone was the meme that made self-pity a joke and, years later, an identity. Status: dead.
45. Friday
Rebecca Black's February 2011 single, produced by a vanity label, became the most-disliked video on YouTube and then a real career. Friday taught the internet to feel guilty about pile-ons, briefly. Status: dead.
46. Planking
Lying face down in unusual places, photographed. Planking peaked in 2011, produced a death in Australia, and was replaced by owling within months. Status: dead.
47. Arrow to the Knee
Every guard in "Skyrim" (November 2011) used to be an adventurer until then. Arrow to the Knee was the most quoted video game line of the decade for about six months. Status: dead.
48. Condescending Wonka
Gene Wilder leaning on his hand, captioned with fake interest in your problems, from 2011. Condescending Wonka was the best sarcasm image of its era. Status: dead.
49. Scumbag Steve
A kid in a sideways cap in a doorway, from 2011, captioned with every small betrayal. Scumbag Steve and his opposite Good Guy Greg were the advice-animal morality play. Status: dead.
50. One Does Not Simply
Boromir, from 2001's "Fellowship of the Ring", captioned from 2011 with every task that cannot be done simply. One Does Not Simply. Status: dying.
51. Futurama Fry
Fry squinting, "not sure if X or Y", from 2011. Futurama Fry and Ancient Aliens Guy were the last great advice-animal captions. Status: dead.
52. Overly Attached Girlfriend
Laina Morris's wide-eyed June 2012 parody of a Justin Bieber song became the face of clinginess. Overly Attached Girlfriend. Status: dead.
53. Bad Luck Brian
A school photo of Kyle Craven in a plaid sweater vest, captioned in 2012 with catastrophic outcomes. Bad Luck Brian. Status: dead.
54. Ermahgerd
A girl holding Goosebumps books, captioned in 2012 with a lisp for excitement. Ermahgerd gave the internet a dialect. Status: dead.
55. Crying Jordan
Michael Jordan weeping at his 2009 Hall of Fame induction, pasted onto every loser in sport from about 2012 and dominant by 2016. Crying Jordan is the best sports meme ever. Status: dying.
56. Harlem Shake
Thirty seconds of Baauer, one person dancing, then everyone. Harlem Shake videos went from zero to tens of thousands in February 2013 and were dead by March. Status: dead.
57. What Does the Fox Say
Ylvis's September 2013 joke song became a global hit. What Does the Fox Say. Ring-ding-ding. Status: dead.
58. Ice Bucket Challenge
Pour ice water over your head for ALS research, summer 2014. The Ice Bucket Challenge raised over a hundred million dollars and funded a real gene discovery. Status: dead.
59. But That's None of My Business
Kermit sipping tea, from 2014, after every passive-aggressive observation. But That's None of My Business. Status: dead.
60. Press F to Pay Respects
A "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" prompt at a funeral, November 2014. Press F to Pay Respects gave every chat room its mourning ritual: F. Status: alive.
61. Left Shark
The backup dancer who forgot the choreography at Katy Perry's February 2015 Super Bowl show. Left Shark was the first meme to happen live in front of a hundred million people. Status: dead.
62. The Dress
Blue and black or white and gold? On 26 February 2015 The Dress split the internet down the middle and taught it about colour constancy. Status: dead.
63. Dat Boi
A frog on a unicycle, "here come dat boi, o shit waddup", spring 2016. Dat Boi was the first pure absurdist meme to go mainstream. Status: dead.
64. Damn Daniel
"Damn, Daniel. Back at it again with the white Vans." February 2016. Damn Daniel was Vine's last big gift. Status: dead.
65. Evil Kermit
Kermit and his hooded dark side from "Muppets Most Wanted", captioned in November 2016 with every bad impulse. Evil Kermit. Status: dying.
66. Arthur's Fist
A clenched aardvark fist from a 1999 "Arthur" episode, resurfaced in July 2016 for every suppressed rage. Arthur's Fist. Status: dying.
67. Mannequin Challenge
Everyone freezes while a camera moves through, to "Black Beatles", November 2016. The Mannequin Challenge was done by the Clintons, the Cavaliers and every school on earth. Status: dead.
68. Confused Math Lady
Brazilian actress Renata Sorrah surrounded by floating equations, from 2016. Confused Math Lady is the face of trying to work out what just happened. Status: alive.
69. Blinking White Guy
Drew Scanlon's double-take from a 2013 Giant Bomb stream, made a GIF in 2017. Blinking White Guy is the reaction GIF for "excuse me?". Status: alive.
70. Expanding Brain
Four increasingly glowing brains for increasingly galaxy-brained takes, from 2017. Expanding Brain is the template for ironic escalation. Status: alive.
71. Mocking SpongeBob
SpongeBob as a chicken, from May 2017, WiTh AlTeRnAtInG cApS. Mocking SpongeBob gave the internet a typographic way to sneer. Status: alive.
72. Salt Bae
Nusret Gökçe sprinkling salt down his forearm, January 2017. Salt Bae was the last gesture meme before TikTok. Status: dead.
73. Roll Safe
Kayode Ewumi tapping his temple, from January 2017, captioned with terrible logic. Roll Safe. Status: dying.
74. Ugandan Knuckles
A deformed Knuckles in VRChat asking "do you know de wey", from late 2017. Ugandan Knuckles was very funny for a month and then a lesson. Status: dead.
75. Big Chungus
A fat Bugs Bunny from a 1941 short, presented in December 2018 as a fake PS4 game. Big Chungus was the peak of ironic fake-game memes. Status: dead.
76. Surprised Pikachu
A low-res frame from 1997, posted in September 2018 for every predictable consequence. Surprised Pikachu is a permanent reaction image. Status: alive.
77. Change My Mind
Steven Crowder at a folding table, February 2018, with a sign for every unpopular opinion. Change My Mind. Status: alive.
78. Is This a Pigeon
An anime character misidentifying a butterfly, from a 1991 show, circulating since 2011 and dominant in 2018. Is This a Pigeon is for confident misclassification. Status: alive.
79. Tide Pod Challenge
Teenagers pretending to eat detergent, January 2018, which a few actually did. The Tide Pod Challenge produced more warnings than participants. Status: dead.
80. Yanny or Laurel
An audio clip from May 2018 that split listeners like the dress split viewers. Yanny or Laurel. Status: dead.
81. OK Boomer
The reply that ended arguments with older people in 2019. OK Boomer was said in the New Zealand parliament and marked the first generational meme war. Status: dying.
82. Storm Area 51
A joke Facebook event for September 2019, "they can't stop all of us", that two million people RSVP'd to. Storm Area 51 ended with a small festival in the desert. Status: dead.
83. Baby Yoda
Grogu, from "The Mandalorian" in November 2019, sipping soup. Baby Yoda was the last universally loved meme before the pandemic. Status: dead.
84. Kombucha Girl
Brittany Broski's August 2019 face journey after tasting kombucha. Kombucha Girl is the reaction GIF for reconsidering. Status: alive.
85. Coffin Dance
Ghanaian pallbearers dancing with a casket, set to "Astronomia", spring 2020. The Coffin Dance was the pandemic's punchline for every risky decision. Status: dead.
86. Bernie's Mittens
Bernie Sanders in a parka and knitted mittens at the January 2021 inauguration, photoshopped into everything. Bernie's Mittens was the last wholesome political meme. Status: dead.
87. Among Us
The 2018 game became 2020's lockdown pastime and 2021's Amogus, a crewmate shape seen in everything. Among Us is the meme that made "sus" a word. Status: dying.
88. Stonks
Meme Man in a suit before a rising chart, from 2017 and dominant in the 2021 trading frenzy. Stonks is the word for money going up for no reason. Status: alive.
89. Panik Kalm Panik
Three panels of a Meme Man face for a bad situation, a false relief, and a worse realisation, from 2020. Panik Kalm Panik. Status: alive.
90. Cat Vibing
A cat nodding to a Turkish street musician's "Ievan Polkka", October 2020. Cat Vibing was the pandemic's cat. Status: dead.
91. Zoom Cat Lawyer
"I'm not a cat." A Texas attorney stuck with a kitten filter in a February 2021 court hearing. Zoom Cat Lawyer was the best remote-work moment. Status: dead.
92. Trade Offer
A man in a headset making an offer: I receive X, you receive Y, from 2021. Trade Offer is the template for every lopsided deal. Status: alive.
93. Wednesday Dance
Jenna Ortega's choreography from November 2022, revived in 2025. The Wednesday Dance was the last dance everyone learned. Status: dead.
94. Rizz
Charisma, shortened by Kai Cenat around 2021 and made word of the year by 2023. Rizz is the most successful new word of the streaming era. Status: alive.
95. Gigachad
A black-and-white photo of a jawline, from 2017, representing the ideal man ironically and then not. Gigachad descends from Virgin vs Chad and outlived it. Status: alive.
96. Cheems
The Shiba with the speech impediment, from 2019, forever losing to Swole Doge in Buff Doge vs Cheems. Cheems, real name Balltze, died in August 2023. Status: dead.
97. Hawk Tuah
The June 2024 street-interview phrase that became the biggest catchphrase of its year and ended in a trading-chat scandal. Hawk Tuah is here as the perfect modern meme life cycle. Status: dead.
98. Chill Guy
A dog in a sweater who lowkey does not care, drawn in 2023, viral in November 2024. Chill Guy was the last mascot meme before AI took the job. Status: dead.
99. Tralalero Tralala
A three-legged shark in Nikes, January 2025, first of the Italian Brainrot creatures. Tralalero Tralala is here because AI-generated nonsense with a text-to-speech voice is now a genre, and this started it. Status: dead.
100. Six-Seven
A number, shouted, from a December 2024 rap song and a kid at a basketball game. Six-Seven was 2025's word of the year and the most recent proof that a meme does not need to mean anything. Status: dead.
The ones that nearly made it
Bongo Cat, Popcat and Walter for the animals. Navy Seal Copypasta, the Bee Movie Script and Rule 34 for the text. Slenderman, ROFLcopter and YTMND for the old web. Thanos Snap, Sir, This Is a Wendy's, Mr. Incredible Becoming Uncanny, Return to Monke and I Am Once Again Asking for the 2018 to 2021 stretch. And the pure fads: Cash Me Ousside, Deez Nuts, Pizza Rat, Covfefe, Dabbing, Bottle Flip, the Fidget Spinner and Baby Shark.
FAQ
What is the greatest internet meme of all time?
The Rickroll. It has been funny since May 2007, works on every platform, has been used by governments and by Rick Astley himself, and hurts nobody.
What was the first internet meme?
The Dancing Baby, a 1996 3D animation passed around by email, is usually counted as the first. The Hamster Dance (1998) and All Your Base (1998 to 2001) were the first web-native ones.
Which old memes are still alive?
Rickroll, Doge, Pepe, This Is Fine, Drake Hotline Bling, Distracted Boyfriend and Press F are all still in daily use. Most memes from before 2010 are dead in the sense that nobody posts them sincerely.
How are memes ranked here?
By reach, longevity and legacy: how far they spread, how long they lasted, and what they left in the language. Fads with no afterlife rank lower than smaller memes that changed how people talk.
