If you ask ten different people what the definition of “who’s who” is it’s likely that you’d get ten different answers.  The term “who’s who” is used in so many different ways that it is is amusing to find how many times we incorporate it into everyday conversations.  We say things such as “the guest list read like a who’s who of corporate America.”  Do a Google Search and you’ll find ‘who’s who’ used in every fashion and manner, including the original incarnation of who’s who which came about in 1849.

According to Roget’s New Millennium™ Thesaurus, Who’s Who can also have the connotation of an “upper class group” or the “elite, gentry, and glitterati” of society.  Who’s who is also used loosely to represent an almanac or a social register, list or line up.

The last interpretation is how the Madison Who’s Who blog most often utilizes the phrase when we present books, websites and other compilations of outstanding people as well as outstanding events or items.  We also favor the biographical component to who’s who by bringing to the forefront various tributes or new biographies of the achievers and pivotal personalities through the corridors of time.

Almost every organization or institution also keeps their own who’s who.  There’s a who’s who of outstanding students in America as well as a Who Who’s of the most recognized teachers and even a Who’s Who of lawyers and a Who’s Who’ of athletes.  Every company has its own roster’s of who’s who and every profession looks within its own ranks to spotlight their most brilliant with a who’s who designation.