Late comedian and actor Robin Williams was the most popular Google search term in 2014, with the August death of the Mrs. Doubtfire star moving people worldwide.

A curiosity about world events is clear in Google’s newly-released 2014 search trends, with the World Cup, Ebola, MH370 and ALS all in the top five search terms.

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In a blog post, Google senior vice president Amit Singhal said searches for Williams’ movies like Aladdin and Dead Poets Society skyrocketed following his death.

“The passing of beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams shook the world, bringing many people online to search for more information and to remember—and putting Williams in the #1 spot on our global trends charts,” Mr Singhal said.

“There was even an uptick in searches related to depression tests and mental health in the days following his death”.

Ebola was the third most popular Google search term. Image: AAP

Google searches for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 also showed people were hoping for a happy ending, with the search terms “mh370 found” outnumbering “mh370 lost”.

“How could a plane just vanish into thin air? In the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, that question propelled the mystery to the global trends charts,” Mr Singhal said.

The remainder of the top 10 searches showed our love of pop culture, with mobile phone game Flappy Bird, Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, terrorist organisation ISIS, Disney movie Frozen and the Sochi Winter Olympic Games making the list.

Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence was the most Googled person in 2014, while the super-sized iPhone 6 was the most Googled consumer electronic.

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Google top 2014 search terms

1. Robin Williams
2. World Cup
3. Ebola
4. MH370
5. ALS (ice bucket challenge)
6. Flappy Bird
7. Conchita Wurst
8. ISIS
9. Frozen
10. Sochi