Revealed: The most searched memes of 2021

The UK’s most popular meme searches in 2021 have been revealed by Google.

Here are the top 10 memes people were looking for this year using the search engine.

1. Matt Hancock

Matt Hancock resigned as health secretary when leaked CCTV footage showed him kissing an aide, breaching social distancing rules he had helped to establish during the pandemic.

Memes shared on social media poked fun at his departure.

2. Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders came in second after a picture of him at President Joe Biden’s inauguration made waves across the internet, sparking thousands of photoshopped memes on social media.

In the picture, the former presidential candidate is seen wearing oversized mittens and a practical brown coat, sitting socially distanced on a folding chair with crossed legs and arms.

Social media users transposed him into various places like famous TV shows, works of art and iconic photographs.

Some speculated that it looked like he did not want to be there, while others noted that his outfit defied the conventions of formal wear at inauguration ceremonies.

3. 4 lads

Jamie Philips, Connor Humpage, Kevin Rooney and Alex Lacey became known as “The Four Lads in Jeans” after an image of them wearing tight trousers on a night out in Birmingham went viral.

They told Good Morning Britain they were made fun of for their clothes but hinted at future work opportunities lined up off the back of their internet fame.

4. Hamster

In February, fans of singer Lana del Ray created a “cult” on TikTok that required prospective group members to change their avatars to a picture of her smiling, according to the Know Your Meme website.

The trend went viral and inspired a parody “hamster cult”, with members all using the same picture of the animal for their profiles.

5. Prince Philip

It seems that there is no subject too sensitive for a meme – not even the late Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 in April.

6. It’s coming home

Chants of “football’s coming home” gained momentum as England reached the Euro 2020 final this summer – the team’s first tournament final since the 1966 World Cup.

The anthem is called “Three Lions” by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds and was originally recorded for Euro 96, which was held in England.

7. Squid Game

Squid Game became Netflix’s most popular series launch with 111m viewers in the first month, so it should come as no surprise that it spawned a litany of memes.

The series is set in South Korea and sees people who are heavily in debt invited to play a series of challenges which could see them scoop 45.6bn won (around £28m).

8. Sea shanty

Nathan Evans, a 26-year-old Scottish postman and aspiring musician, shared a video of himself on TikTok, singing a sea shanty called “Soon May the Wellerman Come.”

The clip was shared and duetted thousands of times by the likes of professional vocalists, maritime enthusiasts – and even a Kermit the Frog puppet.

9. Homeschooling

As schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, parents used memes to share the frustrations of managing their children’s education from home.

10. Line of duty

Millions watched Line of Duty in lockdown, a series following anti-corruption police unit AC-12, which aired its season finale in May and prompted fans to share their reactions by making memes.