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After a brief delay due to technical troubles, here are the AO3 Ship Stats for August 2016!
This list shows the 100 pairing tags with the most fanfics posted on Archive Of Our Own. There are 61 M/M pairings, 26 F/M, 4 F/F, 4 Gen and 5 Other. (Please note that on AO3, ‘Name & Name’ indicates platonic relationships (Gen), while ‘Name/Name’ is used for romantic pairings.)
Of the 200 names on the list, 34 belong to women and 5 to characters of indeterminate gender, up from 33 and 2 respectively in the 2015 list. There are 27 POC and 15 racially ambiguous characters, up from 24 and 12.
For more information on this list, please see the FAQ post. You might also want to check out the Top 100 pairings of This Year.
(Data updated to table format April 2025.)
| Rank | Change | Pairing Tag | Fandom | Works | Type | Race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Castiel/Dean Winchester | Supernatural | 56,390 | M/M | White |
| 2 | 0 | Sherlock Holmes/John Watson | Sherlock (TV) | 46,048 | M/M | White |
| 3 | 0 | Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski | Teen Wolf (TV) | 42,539 | M/M | White |
| 4 | 0 | Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | One Direction (Band) | 27,354 | M/M | White |
| 5 | 2 | James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers | Captain America (Movies) | 21,639 | M/M | White |
| 6 | -1 | Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester | Supernatural | 18,976 | M/M | White |
| 7 | 1 | Steve Rogers/Tony Stark | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 16,414 | M/M | White |
| 8 | -2 | Merlin/Arthur Pendragon | Merlin (TV) | 15,778 | M/M | White |
| 9 | 0 | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 15,190 | M/M | White |
| 10 | 0 | Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel | Glee | 12,943 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 11 | 0 | Sherlock Holmes & John Watson | Sherlock (TV) | 12,484 | Gen | White |
| 12 | 1 | Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier | X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies) | 10,365 | M/M | White |
| 13 | 3 | Levi/Eren Yeager | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan | 10,116 | M/M | White |
| 14 | -2 | Rodney McKay/John Sheppard | Stargate Atlantis | 9,745 | M/M | White |
| 15 | -1 | Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki | Supernatural RPF | 9,636 | M/M | White |
| 16 | -1 | Clint Barton/Phil Coulson | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 8,894 | M/M | White |
| 17 | 1 | Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 8,812 | F/M | White |
| 18 | 3 | Gabriel/Sam Winchester | Supernatural | 8,513 | M/M | White |
| 19 | 20 | Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter | Hannibal (TV) | 8,488 | M/M | White |
| 20 | -1 | Zayn Malik/Liam Payne | One Direction (Band) | 8,060 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 21 | 9 | Sirius Black/Remus Lupin | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 8,006 | M/M | White |
| 22 | -5 | Enjolras/Grantaire | Les Misérables - All Media Types | 7,907 | M/M | White |
| 23 | 1 | Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield | The Hobbit - All Media Types | 7,719 | M/M | White |
| 24 | 13 | Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak | Arrow (TV 2012) | 7,665 | F/M | White |
| 25 | -3 | James T. Kirk/Spock | Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) | 7,501 | M/M | White |
| 26 | -6 | Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams | Hawaii Five-0 (2010) | 7,484 | M/M | White |
| 27 | 13 | Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan | Once Upon a Time (TV) | 7,239 | F/F | Whi/POC |
| 28 | -3 | Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich | Shameless (US) | 6,885 | M/M | White |
| 29 | 2 | Pepper Potts/Tony Stark | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 6,869 | F/M | White |
| 30 | 15 | Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin | The 100 (TV) | 6,756 | F/M | Whi/POC |
| 31 | -5 | Harry Potter/Severus Snape | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 6,751 | M/M | White |
| 32 | 4 | Frank Iero/Gerard Way | My Chemical Romance | 6,667 | M/M | White |
| 33 | -6 | Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones | Torchwood | 6,666 | M/M | White |
| 34 | -6 | Loki/Thor | Thor (Movies) | 6,506 | M/M | White |
| 35 | -6 | Allison Argent/Scott McCall | Teen Wolf (TV) | 6,471 | F/M | Whi/POC |
| 36 | 45 | Dan Howell/Phil Lester | Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF) | 6,465 | M/M | White |
| 37 | 7 | Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan | Once Upon a Time (TV) | 6,406 | F/M | White |
| 38 | -15 | Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg | The Sentinel | 6,250 | M/M | White |
| 39 | N | Clarke Griffin/Lexa | The 100 (TV) | 6,049 | F/F | White |
| 40 | -6 | Mycroft Holmes/Lestrade | Sherlock (TV) | 6,028 | M/M | White |
| 41 | -9 | James T. Kirk/Leonard McCoy | Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) | 5,678 | M/M | White |
| 42 | -7 | Loki/Tony Stark | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 5,639 | M/M | White |
| 43 | -1 | Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold | Once Upon a Time (TV) | 5,530 | F/M | White |
| 44 | -11 | Clark Kent/Lex Luthor | Smallville | 5,511 | M/M | White |
| 45 | -7 | Arthur/Eames (Inception) | Inception (2010) | 5,490 | M/M | White |
| 46 | 17 | Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford | Dragon Age: Inquisition | 5,400 | Other | Whi/Amb |
| 47 | -6 | Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan | 5,304 | M/M | White |
| 48 | -5 | Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper | Sherlock (TV) | 5,172 | F/M | White |
| 49 | 5 | Castiel & Dean Winchester | Supernatural | 4,945 | Gen | White |
| 50 | -3 | Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 4,792 | F/M | Whi/Amb |
| 51 | 33 | Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio | Haikyuu!! | 4,734 | M/M | POC |
| 52 | -3 | Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler | Doctor Who (2005) | 4,709 | F/M | White |
| 53 | 4 | James Bond/Q | James Bond (Craig movies) | 4,483 | M/M | White |
| 54 | N | Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood | Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare | 4,346 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 55 | N | Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru | Haikyuu!! | 4,281 | M/M | POC |
| 56 | -8 | Mary Morstan/John Watson | Sherlock (TV) | 4,275 | F/M | White |
| 57 | N | Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren | Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) | 4,256 | M/M | White |
| 58 | -12 | John Egbert/Dave Strider | Homestuck | 4,184 | M/M | Ambig |
| 59 | 3 | Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester | Supernatural | 4,163 | Gen | White |
| 60 | 16 | Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein | Carmilla (Web Series) | 4,101 | F/F | White |
| 61 | -9 | Niall Horan/Harry Styles | One Direction (Band) | 4,023 | M/M | White |
| 62 | -9 | Jane Foster/Thor | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 4,000 | F/M | White |
| 63 | -7 | Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark | Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins | 3,976 | F/M | Whi/Amb |
| 64 | 15 | Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz | Fall Out Boy | 3,952 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 65= | 26 | James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers | Captain America (Movies) | 3,893 | Gen | White |
| 65= | -5 | Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester | Supernatural | 3,893 | F/M | White |
| 67 | -17 | Carlos/Cecil Palmer | Welcome to Night Vale | 3,827 | M/M | Amb/POC |
| 68 | 0 | Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 3,719 | F/M | White |
| 69 | N | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Miraculous Ladybug | 3,712 | F/M | Whi/POC |
| 70 | -19 | Niall Horan/Zayn Malik | One Direction (Band) | 3,700 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 71 | -5 | Levi/Erwin Smith | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan | 3,681 | M/M | White |
| 72 | N | Inquisitor/Solas | Dragon Age: Inquisition | 3,667 | Other | Whi/Amb |
| 73 | N | Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV) | 3,612 | F/M | White |
| 74 | -16 | Sebastian Moran/James Moriarty | Sherlock (TV) | 3,526 | M/M | White |
| 75 | -20 | Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill | Stargate SG-1 | 3,502 | M/M | White |
| 76 | -7 | Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto | Free! | 3,499 | M/M | POC |
| 77 | 6 | James Potter/Lily Evans Potter | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 3,442 | F/M | White |
| 78 | -1 | America (Hetalia)/England (Hetalia) | Hetalia: Axis Powers | 3,374 | M/M | White |
| 79 | -15 | Bruce Banner/Tony Stark | The Avengers (Marvel Movies) | 3,314 | M/M | White |
| 80 | -7 | Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy | Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling | 3,303 | F/M | Whi/Amb |
| 81 | -14 | Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes | Teen Wolf (TV) | 3,286 | F/M | Whi/POC |
| 82 | N | Harry Hart/Gary "Eggsy" Unwin | Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) | 3,281 | M/M | White |
| 83 | -22 | Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore | Teen Wolf (TV) | 3,280 | F/M | White |
| 84 | -25 | Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski | due South | 3,269 | M/M | White |
| 85 | -7 | Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski | Teen Wolf (TV) | 3,264 | M/M | White |
| 86 | -14 | Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam | Homestuck | 3,188 | F/F | Ambig |
| 87 | -16 | Spike/Buffy Summers | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 3,170 | F/M | White |
| 88 | N | Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph | Twenty One Pilots | 3,169 | M/M | Whi/POC |
| 89 | 4 | Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas | Homestuck | 3,091 | M/M | Ambig |
| 90 | N | Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin | Bangtan Boys | BTS | 3,080 | M/M | POC |
| 91 | N | Fenris/Hawke | Dragon Age II | 3,054 | Other | Amb/POC |
| 92 | -27 | Eleventh Doctor/River Song | Doctor Who (2005) | 2,956 | F/M | White |
| 93 | -5 | Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski | Teen Wolf (TV) | 2,942 | F/M | White |
| 94 | N | Poe Dameron/Finn | Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) | 2,940 | M/M | POC |
| 95 | 0 | Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto | Naruto | 2,931 | M/M | POC |
| 96 | -22 | Gavin Free/Michael Jones | Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF | 2,929 | M/M | White |
| 97 | N | Fox Mulder/Dana Scully | The X-Files | 2,882 | F/M | White |
| 98 | -28 | Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill | Stargate SG-1 | 2,830 | F/M | White |
| 99 | -8 | Kaidan Alenko/Shepard | Mass Effect | 2,792 | Other | Amb/POC |
| 100 | N | Alistair/Warden (Dragon Age) | Dragon Age: Origins | 2,769 | Other | Amb/POC |