people who were born in the historical territory of what is now Latvia, regardless of ethnicity, citizenship, or time period; and
people of Latvian descent regardless of their place of birth or citizenship.
A
Valerians Abakovskis (1895–1921) – inventor of a propeller-powered railcar, the aerowagon
Rutanya Alda (Rutanya Alda Skrastiņa, born 1942) – actress (Mommie Dearest, The Deer Hunter)
Viktor Alksnis (born 1950) – Soviet military officer and Russian communist politician known as "the Black Colonel"
Juris Alunāns (1832–1864) – writer and philologist
Ingrīda Andriņa (1944–2015) – actress
Iveta Apkalna (born 1976) – organist
Fricis Apšenieks (1894–1941) – chess player
Vija Artmane (1929–2008) – actress
Aspazija, pen-name of Elza Pliekšāne (1865–1943) – poet and playwright
Gunārs Astra (1931–1988) – dissident, fighter for human rights
Auseklis, pseudonym of Miķelis Krogzemis (1850–1879) – poet, author and translator of German poets
B
Ainars Bagatskis (born 1967) – basketball player
Helmuts Balderis (born 1952) – ice hockey player, forward
Jānis Balodis (1881–1965) – army officer and politician
Kārlis Balodis (1864–1931) – economist, financist, statistician and demographist
Krišjānis Barons (1835–1923) – "the father of Latvian folk songs"; compiled and edited the first publication of Latvian folk-song texts, Latvju Dainas (1894–1915)
Mikhail Baryshnikov (born 1948) – ballet dancer
Kārlis Baumanis (1835–1905) – composer, author of the national anthem of the Republic of Latvia "Dievs, svētī Latviju!" ("God Bless Latvia!")
Vizma Belševica (1931–2005) – author, candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature
Eduards Berklavs (1914–2004) – politician, leader of Latvian national-communists
Krišjānis Berķis (1884–1942) – general
Dairis Bertāns (born 1989) – basketball player
Isaiah Berlin (Jesaja Berlins, 1909–1997) – philosopher
Eduards Bērziņš (1894–1938) – soldier in the Red Army, later head of Dalstroy, the Kolyma forced-labour camps in North-Eastern Siberia
Yan Karlovich Berzin (1889–1938) – Soviet military intelligence officer
Kaspars Bērziņš (born 1985) – basketball player
Kārlis Bētiņš (1867–1943) – chess player
Andris Biedriņš (born 1986) – basketball player
Gunārs Birkerts (1925–2017) – architect
Miervaldis Birze (1921–2000) – writer
Ernests Blanks (1894–1972) – publicist, writer, historian, the first to publicly advocate for Latvia's independence
Rūdolfs Blaumanis (1863–1908) – writer and playwright
Himans Blūms (1913–2009) – painter
Jānis Blūms (born 1982) – basketball player
Ārons Bogoļubovs (born 1938) – Olympic medalist in judoka
Mairis Briedis (born 1985) – world boxing champion
Baiba Broka (born 1973) – actress
Baiba Broka (born 1975) – lawyer and politician
Ingūna Butāne (born 1986) – fashion model
C
Frīdrihs Canders (1887–1933) – pioneer of rocketry and spaceflight
Valters Caps (1905–2003) – designed first Minox 8 x 11 photo cameras
Aleksandrs Cauņa (born 1988) – footballer
Gustavs Celmiņš (1899–1968) – fascist politician, leader of Pērkonkrusts movement
Vija Celmins (born 1938) – American painter born in Latvia
Tanhum Cohen-Mintz (1939–2014) – Latvian-born Israeli basketball player
Č
Māris Čaklais (1940–2003) – poet
Aleksandrs Čaks (1901–1950) – poet
Jānis Čakste (1859–1927) – first President of Latvia
D
Roberts Dambītis (1881–1957) – general and politician
Jānis Dāliņš (1904–1978) – athlete, race walker
Emīls Dārziņš (1875–1910) – composer
Volfgangs Dārziņš (1906–1962) – composer, pianist, and music critic
Kaspars Daugaviņš (born 1988) – ice hockey player
Jacob Davis (1834–1908) – inventor of denim
Johans Aleksandrs Heinrihs Klapje de Kolongs (1839–1901) – naval engineer
Gidons Krēmers (born 1947) – violinist and conductor
Miķelis Krogzemis (1850–1879) – poet, author and translator of German poets
Juris Kronbergs (born 1946) – poet, writer, free-lance journalist, translator
Atis Kronvalds (1837–1875) – teacher and journalist; reformed the Latvian language; organized the first Latvian Song and Dance Festival
Dainis Kūla (born 1959) – athlete (Olympic gold medal in javelin)
Alberts Kviesis (1881–1944) – President of Latvia
L
Aleksandrs Laime (1911–1994) – explorer
Vilis Lācis (1904–1966) – author and politician
Ginta Lapiņa (born 1989) – fashion model
Natālija Lašenova (born 1973) – gymnastics Olympic champion (team)
Edvards Liedskalniņš (1887–1951) – builder of Coral Castle in Florida; claimed to have discovered the ancient magnetic levitation secrets used to construct the Egyptian pyramids