Research Data
Research Data
Erdős Number Calculator
Find your Erdős number, or anyone else's. Search a researcher and see the shortest verified coauthorship path to Paul Erdős.
Try:
Erdős number
2
Albert Einstein
2 coauthorship steps from Paul Erdős
Example pathVerified coauthor route
3 researchers
Albert Einstein
Researcher
Ernst Gabor Straus
Coauthor
Paul Erdős
Origin
Albert Einstein
Researcher
Ernst Gabor Straus
Coauthor
Paul Erdős
Origin
Verified against the Erdős Number Project’s August 2025 data.
14,297
verified researchers with Erdős number 0–2
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live coauthor search for researchers beyond the list
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Famous Erdős numbers
Every number below is a verified record from the Erdős Number Project. Select one to see the coauthorship path behind it.
What is an Erdős number?
An Erdős number is the number of coauthorship links between a researcher and the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős. Erdős himself is 0. Anyone who published a paper with him is 1; their coauthors are 2; and the chain continues outward. Erdős wrote around 1,500 papers with hundreds of collaborators, so the measure turns a century of research collaboration into a surprisingly small-world graph — most publishing mathematicians sit between 3 and 5.
How to find your Erdős number
- 1
Search your name
Type your name into the box above. The calculator matches against 14,297 verified Erdős 0–2 records first, then falls back to OpenAlex author profiles.
- 2
Pick the right profile
Author databases sometimes split one person across several profiles. Use the institution and publication count shown next to each result to choose yours.
- 3
Check the path
The result shows every researcher in the chain and, where available, the shared paper that creates each link — so you can verify the number rather than take it on trust.
How this lookup works
Results at 0, 1, and 2 come straight from the Erdős Number Project at Oakland University — 514 people with Erdős number 1 and 13,782 with Erdős number 2 in the August 2025 file. For anyone outside that set, the lookup pulls your most-cited works from OpenAlex, reads their coauthor lists, and finds the shortest bridge into the verified data. That means the number you see is an upper bound backed by a path you can inspect, not an estimate.
Frequently asked questions
What is my Erdős number?
If you have published academic research, your Erdős number is the length of the shortest chain of coauthors linking you to Paul Erdős. Search your name above: the lookup checks 14,297 verified records for Erdős numbers 0–2, then scans your coauthors in OpenAlex to find a bridge into that set. Most publishing mathematicians land between 3 and 5.
How do I find my Erdős number for free?
Type your name into the search box on this page and pick your profile from the results. There is no sign-up, and the result comes with the full coauthorship path and the papers that create each link, so you can check the chain yourself.
Can someone get an Erdős number today?
Yes. Erdős died in 1996, so nobody new can become number 1, but publishing with someone who already has a finite number extends the chain. Coauthoring with a researcher whose number is 3 gives you 4 — or lowers your existing number if it was higher.
Does citing a paper count?
No. The link must be coauthorship on a published paper. Citations, thesis advising, sharing a department, or meeting Erdős at a conference do not count.
What is the average Erdős number?
Among researchers who have a finite Erdős number, the Erdős Number Project reports a mean of roughly 4.65 and a median of 5. The maximum finite value they have recorded is 13, which is why the collaboration graph is often described as a small world.
How many people have an Erdős number of 1?
514 people appear with Erdős number 1 in the August 2025 Erdős Number Project file used here, and 13,782 more have Erdős number 2. Erdős himself is the only 0.
What is an Erdős–Bacon number?
It is the sum of someone's Erdős number and their Bacon number — the number of film links to Kevin Bacon. Only a small group of people who both publish research and appear in films have a finite one. This tool calculates the Erdős half.
Why might my result be missing?
Publication databases often split one researcher across several profiles, or index papers under initials and name variants. Pick the profile whose institution and publication count match you. Researchers far from the verified 0–2 set may also need a deeper search than this fast web lookup performs.
Data sources: The Erdős Number Project and OpenAlex.
