| 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 have always had school sickness, as others have seasickness. I cried when it was time to go back to school long after I was old enough to be ashamed of such behavior.”