Whenever a new term pops up on our social media feed, we turn to Google to look up its meaning. When we miss a sporting event, we turn to Google to see the results. As the top search engine in the world, Google is the Americans' go-to platform when seeking answers on practically anything.
On Dec. 12 (Thursday), the search giant took everyone by surprise when they released their Year in Search 2019 video that featured the "search trends, moments, and heroes" that shaped the year. The video reads:
"Throughout history, in times of uncertainty, the world looks for heroes. In 2019, searches for heroes soared. To everyone who uses their power to empower, search on."
The video then showed clips of unsung heroes, sheroes, supermoms, superdads, and all kinds of heroes in the form of athletes, rescuers, parents, persons with disabilities, and other personalities. It also featured clips from Avengers: End Game, Game of Thrones, Toy Story 4, Captain Marvel, among other 2019 entertainment trends.
But what piqued the interest of users the most is the list of biggest search trends in 2019. These are the search terms that saw the largest spikes in traffic from the beginning of the year until December. Check out the results below:
Top Google Searches in the U.S.
Google users from the U.S. were interested the most in Disney Plus, which is pretty explicable since the streaming service is the newest addition to the company's growing list of assets. Here are the top 10 search terms:
1. Disney Plus
2. Cameron Boyce
3. Nipsey Hussle
4. Hurricane Dorian
5. Antonio Brown
6. Luke Perry
7. Avengers: Endgame
8. Game of Thrones
9. iPhone 11
10. Jussie Smollett
Most Searched Questions on Google
Interestingly, the engine's list of most searched queries that start with "What is" is topped by a topic that started out as a joke. "Storm Area 51" is a viral Facebook meme that turned into a real-life event, which led many to turn to the search engine to look up its meaning.
What Is...?
1. What is area 51
2. What is a vsco girl
3. What is momo
4. What is a boomer
5. What is quid pro quo
6. What is camp fashion
7. What is disney plus
8. What is bird box about
9. What is a mandalorian
10. What is brexit
Where Is...?
Meanwhile, people were most curious about the exact locations of Sri Lanka, Super Bowl 2019 event, and, you guessed it right-Area 51.
1. Where is Sri Lanka
2. Where is the Super Bowl this year
3. Where is Area 51
4. Where is 21 Savage from
5. Where is the hurricane now
6. Where is Xur
7. Where is Clemson football team from
8. Where is Gonzaga University located
9. Where is Stranger Things filmed
10. Where is Pebble Beach Golf Course
Top Search Terms in Entertainment
The HBO fantasy epic topped this year's TV show queries, while Avengers: Endgame hit the no. 1 spot in the most talked about movies of 2019. Interestingly, R. Kelly is the most searched musician, and this amid the countless allegations made against him in the previous year.
TV Shows
1. "Game of Thrones"
2. "Stranger Things"
3. "When They See Us"
4. "Chernobyl"
5. "The Mandalorian"
6. "The Umbrella Academy"
7. "Euphoria"
8. "Dead to Me"
9. "Surviving R. Kelly"
10. "The Boys"
Movies
1. "Avengers Endgame"
2. "Captain Marvel"
3. "Joker"
4. "Toy Story 4"
5. "Lion King"
6. "It Chapter Two"
7. "Frozen 2"
8. "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood"
9. "Midsommar"
10. "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark"
People of the Red Carpet
1. Billy Porter red carpet
2. Cardi B red carpet
3. Lady Gaga red carpet
4. Amy Schumer husband red carpet
5. Jenny McCarthy red carpet
6. BTS Grammy red carpet
7. Caitlyn Jenner red carpet
8. Richard Madden Golden Globes red carpet
9. Brie Larson red carpet
10. Brienne of Tarth red carpet
Musicians and Bands
1. R. Kelly
2. 21 Savage
3. Billie Eilish
4. Lil Nas X
5. A$AP Rocky
6. Mötley Crüe
7. Lizzo
8. Gladys Knight
9. Tekashi 69
10. Joy Villa
Songs
1. "Old Town Road"
2. "7 Rings"
3. "Shallow"
4. "Sunflower"
5. "Truth Hurts"
6. "Lose You To Love Me"
7. "Sicko Mode"
8. "thank u, next"
9. "Act Up"
10. "Bury a Friend"
Top Search Terms in Current Events
In current events, Americans were most curious about Hurricane Dorian, which left extensive damage in various places and killed at least 30 people in the Bahamas. The "area 51 raid term" also appeared in the top news searches, which just shows how powerful a viral meme could be.
News
1. Hurricane Dorian
2. Notre Dame Cathedral
3. Women's World Cup
4. Area 51 raid
5. Copa America
6. El Paso shooting
7. Sri Lanka
8. Government shutdown
9. Equifax data breach settlement
10. California earthquake
People
1. Antonio Brown
2. Jussie Smollett
3. James Charles
4. Kevin Hart
5. R. Kelly
6. 21 Savage
7. Lori Loughlin
8. Jordyn Woods
9. Bryce Harper
10. Robert Kraft
Babies
1. Baby Yoda
2. Baby Shark
3. Royal baby
4. Kim Kardashian Kanye West baby
5. Cardi B baby
6. Trey Songz baby
7. Andy Cohen baby
8. Shawn Johnson baby
9. Amy Schumer baby
10. Hoda Kotb baby
Weddings
1. Miranda Lambert wedding
2. Jennifer Lawrence wedding
3. Justin Bieber wedding
4. Miley Cyrus wedding
5. Chiquis Rivera wedding
6. Chris Pratt wedding
7. Joe Jonas wedding
8. Elvis Duran wedding
9. Zoë Kravitz wedding
10. Jake Paul Tana Mongeau wedding
Passing
1. Cameron Boyce
2. Nipsey Hussle
3. Luke Perry
4. Jeffrey Epstein
5. Tyler Skaggs
6. Beth Chapman
7. John Witherspoon
8. John Singleton
9. Eddie Money
10. Elijah Cummings
Top Search Trends in Sports
In the sporting world, former NFL player Antonio Brown piqued the interest of most Americans, probably because of the rape and sexual misconduct accusations made against him by two women this year.
Athletes
1. Antonio Brown
2. Bryce Harper
3. David Ortiz
4. Andrew Luck
5. Myles Garrett
6. Megan Rapinoe
7. Russell Westbrook
8. Zion Williamson
9. Melvin Gordon
10. Alex Morgan
Professional Sports Scores
1. Washington Nationals
2. Boston Bruins
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. St. Louis Blues
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Chicago Bears
8. Minnesota Twins
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Tampa Bay Rays
Top Search Trends in Lifestyle
Apparently, many users in the U.S. wanted to make a shepherd's pie, book a trip to the Maldives, go on an intermittent fasting diet, and give their places a farmhouse style makeover. Google also saw a spike in traffic for the terms "egirl," a derogatory term used for girls who frequent the app TikTok, and "camp style," which became a social media buzz after being the theme of the 2019 Met Gala.
Recipes
1. Shepherds pie recipe
2. Chicken parmigiana recipe
3. Ham glaze recipe
4. Charoset recipe
5. Snickerdoodle cookies recipe
6. Chaffle recipe
7. Chicken cacciatore recipe
8. Popeyes chicken sandwich recipe
9. Tater tot casserole recipe
10. King cake recipe
Diets
1. Intermittent fasting diet
2. Dr. Sebi diet
3. Noom diet
4. 1200 calories diet
5. Keto ultra diet
6. Golo diet
7. Dubrow diet
8. Sirtfood diet
9. No carbs no sugar diet
10. Endomorph diet
Home Styles
1. Farmhouse style
2. Colonial house style
3. Cape Cod house style
4. Spanish style house
5. Art deco style
6. Japanese style house
7. Craftsman style home
8. Transitional style
9. Prairie style homes
10. Modern style homes
Outfit Ideas
1. EGirl outfit
2. Eboy outfit
3. Soft girl outfit
4. Biker shorts outfit
5. VSCO girl outfit
6. Dickies outfit
7. White jeans outfit
8. Fila outfit
9. Champion outfit
10. Leather pants outfit
Fashion Styles
1. Camp style
2. Egirl style
3. Eboy style
4. Steampunk style
5. Harajuku Style
6. Preppy style
7. Yankii style
8. Vintage style
9. VSCO girl style
10. Emo style
Trip to...
1. Trip to Maldives
2. Trip to Japan
3. Trip to Bora Bora
4. Trip to Vegas
5. Trip to Mexico
6. Trip to Alaska
7. Trip to New Orleans
8. Trip to California
9. Trip to New York
10. Trip to Costa Rica
You can view the Google Year in Search results, which can be filtered by country, here.
