20 Most Popular Meme Templates

Which meme formats are used the most? To find out, we tapped Google Trends and pulled every meme-related search query of the last 12 months with creation intent to find the definitive top 20.

Classic Drake
Two iconic images of Drake from his 2015 music video. The meme format, showing Drake rejecting and approving, has become a popular way to humorously express preferences. Originating from the viral music video, it quickly spread across social media, facilitated by the drake hotline bling meme generator. This meme remains a favorite for its versatility and relatability.
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Marked Safe
The "Marked Safe" meme originated from Facebook's safety check feature, allowing users to humorously declare themselves safe from everyday situations. This meme format has become popular for its versatility and humor, often used to share light-hearted updates on social media. With the marked safe meme generator, users can easily create and customize their own versions of this meme.
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Always Has Been
The "Always Has Been" meme, featuring two astronauts and a surprising revelation about Earth, has captivated internet users since its rise to fame in 2018. Originating from a 2011 artwork, this meme format has been widely used to humorously highlight overlooked truths or ironic situations. Discover how to create your own version using the always has been meme generator.
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Ancient Aliens
The "Ancient Aliens" meme, featuring a still from the History Channel's show, humorously attributes various phenomena to extraterrestrial beings. Originating from the series "Ancient Aliens," it has become a staple in online culture. Users can create their own versions using the ancient aliens meme generator.
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Change My Mind
The 'Change My Mind' meme features a person sitting at a table with a sign inviting others to challenge their statement. Originating from a 2018 photograph of Steven Crowder, it quickly became a popular format for online parodies and debates. The meme's adaptability allows users to express opinions humorously, making it a staple in internet culture. Discover how to use the change my mind meme generator and change my mind meme maker to create your own version.
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Chill Guy
The "Chill Guy" meme features a cartoon character with a smug expression, embodying a relaxed and confident attitude. Originating from a popular animated series, it quickly became a favorite for expressing nonchalance in various situations. The chill guy meme generator allows users to customize and share their own versions, making it a versatile tool for online humor.
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I Am Once Again Asking
The 'I Am Once Again Asking' meme features Bernie Sanders, a well-known political figure making a repeated request for support. Originating from a campaign video, it quickly became a popular format for expressing humorous, persistent requests online. The meme's adaptability has made it a favorite across social media, with users creating countless variations using the 'i am once again asking meme generator'.
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Butterfly
The "Is This a Pigeon?" meme, also known as the "butterfly meme," originates from a 1991 anime. It humorously depicts misunderstandings and has become a popular format for memes. Learn about its history and how to create your own version using the butterfly meme generator.
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They Dont Know
The 'They Don't Know' meme features a character standing alone at a party, feeling out of place. Originating from the Wojak character, it humorously captures the feeling of being misunderstood or having unique thoughts that others are unaware of.
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Distracted Boyfriend
The "Distracted Boyfriend" meme, featuring a man looking at another woman while his girlfriend looks shocked, became viral in 2017. Originating from a stock photo by Antonio Guillem, it has been widely used to depict distraction and temptation. The meme's versatility allows for endless creativity, making it a staple in online culture.
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Mocking Spongebob
The "Mocking Spongebob" meme features Spongebob Squarepants in a distorted pose, often used to mock statements humorously. Originating from a 2012 episode of *SpongeBob SquarePants*, it gained popularity in 2017. This meme is widely used in online culture to convey sarcasm or mimic statements. Learn about its history and how to create your own version using the mocking spongebob meme generator.
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They're The Same Picture
The "They're The Same Picture" meme originates from "The Office," where Pam Beesly humorously points out the redundancy of comparing identical images. This meme format is widely used to highlight similarities in a humorous way. Learn about its origin, cultural impact, and how you can create your own version using the meme generator.
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Anakin Padme
The Anakin Padme meme features a scene from "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," where Anakin and Padmé engage in a conversation. This meme format became popular for its humorous take on misleading statements. Users can create their own versions using the anakin padme meme generator.
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Two Buttons
The "Two Buttons" meme features a cartoon character sweating while faced with a difficult decision between two red buttons. Originating from a comic by Jake Clark, this meme has become a popular way to humorously depict indecision. Users can customize the text on the buttons using the two buttons meme generator, making it a versatile tool for expressing various dilemmas.
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Bell Curve
The Bell Curve meme humorously illustrates intelligence distribution using a bell curve graph. Originating from the concept of normal distribution, it features three characters representing different IQ levels. This meme satirizes societal perceptions of intelligence and has become popular for its versatility and insightful commentary.
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One Does Not Simply
The "One Does Not Simply" meme originates from a scene in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," featuring Boromir's iconic line. This meme format has become a staple in internet culture, used to humorously highlight the difficulty of various tasks. Discover its history and how to create your own version.
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You Guys Are Getting Paid
The 'You Guys are Getting Paid?' meme comes from the 2013 film We're the Millers. It features a surprised Will Poulter expressing disbelief at others getting paid. This meme is widely used to humorously highlight situations of unexpected compensation or benefits.
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Best I Can Do
The 'Pawn Stars Best I Can Do' meme comes from the reality TV show 'Pawn Stars.' It features Rick Harrison's famous negotiation catchphrase, often used humorously to depict low offers or compromises.
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Batman Robin
The "Batman Robin Meme" features a comic panel from a 1965 comic where Batman slaps Robin. This meme has become a popular format for expressing humorous disagreements. Learn about its origins and how to use the batman robin meme generator to create your own version.
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Woman Yelling At Cat
The "Woman Yelling at Cat" meme combines a scene from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" with a Tumblr-famous cat named Smudge. It humorously depicts a woman yelling and a cat looking confused, symbolizing miscommunication. The meme went viral in 2019 and is widely used to express humorous misunderstandings.
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This list is based on Google Trends data. Meme Studio pulled every meme-related search query between June 2024 and May 2025 that contained clear creation intent phrases such as “Drake meme generator” or “Drake meme template.” After filtering out ambiguous queries (for example, “handshake meme template” could point to half a dozen different panels), we were left with a definitive top-20.

How we identified the top 20 most popular memes

We averaged monthly search volume for each query over the 12-month window, then ranked templates by raw searche volume. The final leaderboard captures half a million searches only in the United States devoted purely to making memes, not just looking at them.

Drake’s familiar orange-and-yellow split panel came out on top with 15,730 searches per month—35.31 % of all 20 template traffic—while “Woman Yelling at Cat” squeaked into twentieth place with only 660 searches.

The undisputed champion: Classic Drake

Almost a decade after Drake Meme Template still rules the memeosphere. The two-frame “nah/yeah” format is endlessly reusable: from niche fandom quarrels to corporate presentations, its visual logic is instantly understood. Combine versatility with name recognition and you get search traffic that dwarfs everything else on the board.

Middle of the pack surprises

“Marked Safe,” despite Facebook’s waning relevance, lands place two thanks to the ease with which everyday annoyances can be framed as disasters averted. With 9.2 % share and almost 50,000 searches in 12 months, it's a second place we didn't anticipate.

Slots tree through ten are tight, each claiming between 2.7 % and 7.5 % of total volume. “Always Has Been” (two armed astronauts, c. 2018) and “Ancient Aliens” (the History Channel’s wild-haired theorist) both punch above their age, proving that a strong reaction face is still meme gold. “Change My Mind” and “I Am Once Again Asking” show how quickly political images mutate into apolitical jokes when a blank sign or a plea for help is involved.

Why the classics endure—and some fade

Templates thrive on two factors: recognisability and editable surfaces. Drake, Bernie Sanders, and the “Two Buttons” comic all hand you literal text boxes, making them low-effort and high-reward. By contrast, image-only panels such as “Woman Yelling at Cat” demand more imaginative captions, which likely contributes to its lower search demand. Another drag on search volume is brand enforcement; Getty’s tighter grip on “Distracted Boyfriend” images may explain why it sits mid-table rather than atop it.

Almost made it: the ambiguous contenders

Had we been able to pin them to a single picture, catch-all searches like “Spiderman meme generator” and “Handshake meme template” would have cracked the top twenty. Their absence highlights a limitation of search-first methodologies: when internet culture spawns multiple variants under one nickname, counting becomes hard.

What it means for creators

If you’re chasing reach, stick with these well-known formats: their search dominance guarantees a huge audience ready to understand your joke. But don’t ignore the less-known meme templates you find in our library.