| 100% | RONSTADT | 8 | Linda whose "Long, Long Time" is featured in the Last of Us episode of the same name |
| 43% | SIXTIMEWINNER | 13 | Unique claim of the U.S. Open player whose name is hidden in 34-Across |
| 42% | MIRANDAOTTO | 11 | "Lord of the Rings" actress whose last name is spelled the same forward and backward: 2 wds. |
| 42% | JACKSPARROW | 11 | Rakish captain in "Pirates of the Caribbean" whose last name is a kind of bird: 2 wds. |
| 42% | POPES | 5 | 10 featured last names in this puzzle are also the names of these |
| 41% | ERIE | 4 | City on a lake of the same name in the US |
| 41% | DONUT | 5 | Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle |
| 41% | WHITNEYHOUSTON | 14 | "Saving All My Love for You" singer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whose last name is a city in Texas (2 wds.) |
| 40% | CITY | 4 | Last word in the names of four U.S. state capitals |
| 40% | BRITISHPRIMEMINISTERS | 21 | Eight of their last names are featured in this puzzle |
| 39% | OLIVERREED | 10 | Actor whose first name is the title of a Best Picture he co-starred in, and whose last name is that film's director |
| 39% | AMIS | 4 | Novelist whose last name contains two conjugations of the same verb |
| 39% | FROSTBITE | 9 | Hazard of being outside in the cold for a long time |
| 39% | EGGO | 4 | Brand whose last letter is in the shape of its product |
| 39% | IBELIEVEICANFLY | 15 | R. Kelly hit whose last title word is aptly rhymed with "sky" in the lyrics ... and a hint to the starts of the other four longest puzzle answers |
| 39% | KELLYCLARKSON | 13 | Singer whose hit single "Since U Been Gone" is featured in the Broadway musical "& Juliet" (2 wds.) |
| 39% | ALJARREAU | 9 | Singer whose "Moonlighting" was the theme song for the TV show of the same name: 2 wds. |
| 39% | SHEEN | 5 | Mr. ___, animated mascot for a cleaning brand of the same name who debuted in the late '50s |
| 38% | ALI | 3 | Last name of the boxer whose original name was Cassius Clay |
| 38% | OCT | 3 | Last full month of Daylight Saving Time in the US: Abbr. |
| 38% | JAYASHER | 8 | Author whose book "Thirteen Reasons Why" was adapted into a Netflix show of the same name: 2 wds. |
| 38% | MASH | 4 | TV series starring Alan Alda whose finale was one of the biggest moments of '80s TV and was the most-watched single episode in US TV history |
| 38% | SENECACRANE | 11 | Head Gamemaker in "The Hunger Games" whose last name is a kind of bird: 2 wds. |
| 38% | SEALS | 5 | Animals whose habitat can be found in the first three letters of their name |
| 38% | MARTHAGRAHAM | 12 | US choreographer named Dancer of the Century by Time magazine in 1998 |
| 38% | RIPTORN | 7 | Entertainer whose last name is the past tense of a synonym of his first name |
| 38% | TWO | 3 | "___ of Us," VH1 drama which was named after The Beatles song released in 1969 |
| 38% | ARI | 3 | The name of the one who’s gonna last, in “Thank U, Next” |
| 38% | ALEXVANHALEN | 12 | Rock drummer whose last name is the same as his band |
| 38% | ANDRETTI | 8 | Mario ___, all-time great racing driver who was named the U.S. Driver of the Year in 3 separate decades |