| Author Name | Profession | Nationality |
| Yahya Jammeh | Politician | |
| Yasmeen Ghauri | Model | Canadian |
| Yasunari Kawabata | Novelist | Japanese |
| Yo Yo Ma | ||
| Yoshida Kenko | Author | Japanese |
| Yousuf Karsh | Photographer | Canadian |
| Yuan T. Lee | Scientist | Chinese |
| Yukiya Amano | Public Servant | Japanese |
| Yunjin Kim | Actress | South Korean |
| Yunus Emre | Poet | Turkish |
| Yuri Gagarin | Astronaut | Russian |
| Yusef Lateef | Musician | American |
| Yves Saint Laurent | Designer | French |
“I came into music just because I wanted the bread. It's true. I looked around and this seemed like the only way I was going to get the kind of bread I wanted.”
“A good engineer thinks in reverse and asks himself about the stylistic consequences of the components and systems he proposes.”