| 100% | OWEN | 4 | Name of the hippo who bonded with Mzee, an Aldabra giant tortoise, after the hippo was separated from its herd in the 2004 tsunami |
| 31% | CURIUM | 6 | Element with atomic number 96 which was named after scientists who were extensively involved in the field of radioactivity |
| 29% | ANGELABASSETT | 13 | "What's Love Got to Do with It" Oscar nominee who earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama in 1983 (2 wds.) |
| 28% | PINK | 4 | Singer who stylizes her name with an exclamation mark in place of the second letter |
| 28% | BAFFIN | 6 | William —, 17th-century navigator after whom — Bay in the Northwest Passage west of Greenland is named |
| 28% | SOMERVILLE | 10 | Mary —, member of the Royal Astronomical Society born in 1780 after whom — College, Oxford, is named |
| 28% | DAVIDNIVEN | 10 | Actor from "Separate Tables", who has played James Bond in the 1967 "Casino Royale", and was part of the army in real life : 2 wds. |
| 27% | NAOMI | 5 | With 35d, it's the name of the reigning US Open Champion in women's singles who defeated Serena Williams in September 2018 |
| 27% | CHADOCHOCINCO | 13 | Former name of an NFL player who appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2010: 2 wds. |
| 27% | STUART | 6 | First name of an E. B. White character who says that “a misspelled word is an abomination in the sight of everyone” |
| 27% | ICHIRO | 6 | With 41-Across, Japanese baseball player who was named both AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP in 2001 |
| 27% | NANCY | 5 | With 44-Across, golfer who was named both LPGA Rookie of the Year and LPGA Player of the Year in 1978 |
| 27% | RED | 3 | ___ Leicester, an English cheese named after the city of Leicester, which was originally colored with carrot or beetroot juice |
| 27% | ASHE | 4 | Arthur, the king of tennis after whom the stadium in New York has been named |
| 27% | ANDRETTI | 8 | Mario ___, all-time great racing driver who was named the U.S. Driver of the Year in 3 separate decades |
| 27% | ALEXA | 5 | Princess ___, one of the main protagonists in "Barbie & The Diamond Castle" who shares a name with an Amazon smart speaker |
| 27% | LAGUARDIA | 9 | Fiorello H —, mayor of New York City from 1934-45 after whom an airport is named |
| 27% | RICHTER | 7 | Charles —, US seismologist after whom a scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake is named |
| 26% | TOMMYHEINSOHN | 13 | Popular name of NBA player turned broadcaster, who was often paired with Mike Gorman in the Celtics' television broadcasts: 2 wds. |
| 26% | PET | 3 | Creature whose name is one letter off from the type of doctor who takes care of it |
| 26% | FERMIUM | 7 | Element with atomic the number 100 which was named after an Italian-American pioneer of nuclear physics |
| 26% | RUBELLA | 7 | It was eliminated from the U.S. in 2004 |
| 26% | BOHRIUM | 7 | Element with atomic number 107 which was named after a Danish physicist who studied the structure of atoms |
| 26% | CRIMESCENE | 10 | "CSI: ___," with 31-Across, the name of a TV show Liev Schreiber - whose birthday it is today - guest starred in as Michael Keppler: 2 wds. |
| 26% | RADCLIFFE | 9 | Last name of the actor who was the titular protagonist in "Harry Potter" series |
| 26% | PATSUMMITT | 10 | University of Tennessee women's basketball coach who was named Naismith Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989, 1994, 1998, and 2004 (2 wds.) |
| 26% | GALWAY | 6 | "___ Girl," song by English singer Ed Sheeran which has the name of an Irish city in its title that is home to Eyre Square |
| 26% | AETNA | 5 | An insurance giant who is named after a volcano |
| 25% | ONO | 3 | Palindromic name of the musician who was awarded the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award in 2013 |
| 25% | TIAREJENNINGS | 13 | Softball player who won two championships with the University of Oklahoma and who was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2021 (2 wds.) |