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In Bing’s 2015 U.S. year-end rankings, Caitlyn Jenner led the celebrity category, Tom Brady led athletes, and the Paris attacks and threat of ISIS topped news stories. Pizza Rat appeared among Bing’s “strange but true” stories—not as the year’s overall top search. These were category rankings and selected trends, not a complete ranking of every Bing query.
What were the top Bing searches in 2015?
Microsoft published its U.S. Bing search-trends review in early December 2015. It grouped results into categories such as celebrities, athletes, news stories, celebrity moments, people on the rise, and strange-but-true stories. The headline rankings were:
| Category | No. 1 | Ranks 2–10 |
|---|---|---|
| Most searched celebrities | Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner | 2. Miley Cyrus; 3. Taylor Swift; 4. Kim Richards; 5. Kim Kardashian; 6. Bindi Irwin; 7. Chris Brown; 8. Kylie Jenner; 9. Justin Bieber; 10. Kelly Clarkson |
| Most searched athletes | Tom Brady | 2. Ronda Rousey; 3. Jordan Spieth; 4. Stephen Curry; 5. Aaron Rodgers; 6. Serena Williams; 7. Caroline Wozniacki; 8. LeBron James; 9. Danica Patrick; 10. Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Top news stories | Paris attacks and the threat of ISIS | 2. EU refugee crisis; 3. earthquake in Nepal; 4. snowstorm burying the Northeast U.S.; 5. Germanwings 9525 crash; 6. wildfires and drought; 7. U.S.-Cuba relations restored; 8. Planned Parenthood potential defunding; 9. Ashley Madison hack and data leak; 10. discoveries on Pluto and Mars |
These rankings are from Microsoft’s U.S. report, not a universal ranking for Bing users worldwide. Microsoft issued separate regional releases, including for France and Australia/Asia, with different results. The report does not provide raw query counts for each ranked item, and the categories should not be read as a single, comprehensive list of all searches. Microsoft’s 2015 Bing release
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Who was the most searched person on Bing in 2015?
Caitlyn Jenner led the celebrity category
Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner ranked No. 1 among celebrities in Bing’s U.S. list. Microsoft linked the attention to Jenner’s public transition, a high-profile 20/20 interview, an iconic magazine cover, and an Arthur Ashe Courage Award speech. The ranking is specifically for Bing’s celebrity category; it does not establish that Jenner was the most searched person across every category or every region.
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Tom Brady led the athlete category
Tom Brady was the No. 1 searched athlete in the U.S. report. Ronda Rousey followed at No. 2, with Jordan Spieth, Stephen Curry, and Aaron Rodgers rounding out the top five. Microsoft connected Brady’s lead to the year’s sports attention, but the cited release does not give query totals for him or the other athletes.
What was Bing’s top news story in 2015?
The Paris attacks and the threat of ISIS ranked first in Bing’s top news stories. Microsoft described the attacks as a tragedy that prompted worldwide discussion and solidarity. The next entries were the EU refugee crisis, Nepal’s earthquake, a snowstorm burying the U.S. Northeast, and the Germanwings 9525 crash. The list reflects the report’s U.S. news category rather than a global measure of public interest.
What is Pizza Rat, and where did it rank?
Pizza Rat was included in Bing’s “strange but true” material, alongside the 2015 Dress debate and the discovery of a Kermit-like frog. It was a memorable oddity in one of the report’s categories, not Bing’s overall No. 1 search. Search Engine Land’s contemporaneous coverage also places Pizza Rat in that category.
How much did searches for Pluto and Mars increase?
Microsoft reported two changes in search interest during specific 2015 month ranges:
| Search topic | Reported change | Period and context |
|---|---|---|
| Pluto | 160 percent growth | June to July 2015, during attention to images from the Pluto mission |
| Mars | Fivefold increase | August to September 2015, after the discovery of water on Mars |
These figures describe changes over the stated periods, not total annual searches or the number of people who searched. Microsoft’s Bing Search Blog described the trends in its 2015 year-end post.
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