In 9 seasons and 208 episodes, How I Met Your Mother crafted itself a legacy as one of the best and most popular sitcoms of the 21st century thus far, with that being in large part to its characters. The core gang makes the show what it is with help from the supporting cast, who consistently pop up alongside them in various contexts, from drivers to MacLaren's workers.
It is expected that most of the core five appear in every episode, but, in fact, not all of them do. However, there is still a considerable disparity in the number of episodes they appear in compared to everyone else's less-than-one-hundred.
Wendy 'The Waitress'
17 Episodes
So much of How I Met Your Mother is set in the iconic MacLaren's pub, which has a slew of incredible moments under its belt. Involved in some way, shape, or form on seventeen of those occasions was Wendy 'the waitress.'
Wendy's most notable appearances in the sitcom are arguably when she begins a romantic relationship - of sorts - with Barney and when Ted meets her in the future when everyone has moved forward with their lives. She never has a huge role but is someone with whom fans are familiar.
Carl 'MacLaren'
21 Episodes
Carl, the bartender and possible owner of MacLaren's pub, is a character with main character energy who many will assume has far more than just twenty-one appearances in the show.
Given how often the gang hangs out at MacLarens and how many of the show's biggest moments happen in the pub, it seems ludicrous that the main bartender appears just over twenty-times in two-hundred-plus episodes. That may be a testament to how solid of a side character he is.
Tracy McConnell
22 Episodes
The brilliant actress who portrayed Tracy McConnell in the show's final season, Cristin Milioti, only appears fourteen times throughout the show. Tracy, though, a.k.a the mother, appears a total of twenty-two times.
After eight long years, 'Something New' introduced audiences to the mother properly. From there, she was a series regular through season 9 - with Tracy arguably being the best character in the show's final season - meeting the gang members and meeting a tragic and divisive end in the show's finale.
Ranjit Singh
23 Episodes
The most iconic character in How I Met Your Mother outside of the core five is undoubtedly chauffer turned limousine mogul Ranjit Singh, constantly hired by Barney but who frequently drives the whole gang around in fun cameos.
Ranjit has the honor of being the only recurring character in Ted's story to pop up in every season of the show, joining the core five (and, of course, Ted's children to whom he tells the story) in that regard, giving fans many hilarious moments along the way.
Penny & Luke Mosby
63 Episodes
While Ted spends nearly a decade telling fans the story of how he met the mother of his children while never letting go of his obsession with a woman with which his relationships are toxic, his kids experience it in real-time much quicker, never aging.
The two have very little dialogue, with the majority of it coming in the finale when Ted finishes his long and oftentimes painful story, and they urge him to go after Robin. The entirety of their run in the show was obviously filmed a good chunk of time before the show ended yet remained important and prominent for much of the show's run.
Lily Aldrin
205 Episodes
Of the five gang members in How I Met Your Mother, it is only Lily Aldrin who is absent from episodes of the show, taking a three-episode hiatus in season 4 when Alyson Hannigan was pregnant.
The storyline reasoning for this was due to Barney telling an offensive joke (this coming in the first scene of "Mosbius Designs," after which Lily did not appear until four episodes later.) Particularly through her relatable relationship with Marshall and her dynamics with the rest of the group, Lily has a tonne of great moments throughout the series.
Marshall Eriksen
208 Episodes
Unlike his wife, Marshall Eriksen appears in every episode of How I Met Your Mother, going through emotional ups and downs in his private life as well as career changes and creating a whole new family life with his wife.
Marshall is arguably the most consistently likable character in the show, definitely the best human out of the men in the group; he often brings hopefulness and innocence to proceedings. There are a few great Marshall episodes in the series, and unlike others, he did not need to undergo huge character change and growth to be a good character or person.
Robin Scherbatsky
208 Episodes
Robin was the last person to meet and join the core gang in How I Met Your Mother but was in every episode from the pilot to the finale, going through some romantic ups and downs, emotional trauma, and some awesome career moves.
Her role in the final few episodes is pretty heartbreaking as she kind of drifts from the gang as well as gets a divorce from Barney, with many fans believing she is a character who deserved a better ending. However, Robin remains a great and oftentimes relatable character in the show who gave audiences brilliance such as Robin Sparkles and painfully emotional, heartbreaking outings in episodes like "Symphony Of Illumination."
Barney Stinson
208 Episodes
While he spends much of How I Met Your Mother as a pretty detestable human, there may be no character in the show as popular as Barney Stinson, whose emotional complexity and humor add so much to the show.
Barney is another character who fans feel got hard done to in the first part of the finale through his divorce and immediate regression back to his womanizing ways. However, he then does get an emotionally satisfying ending through the birth of his daughter. One of the best things about the series is watching Barney's increasing maturity as well as exploring the layers of his character.
Ted Mosby
208 Episodes
Ted Mosby may be considered one of the most unlikable protagonists in popular sitcom history, but he is still the protagonist, and audiences follow his story for all of its ups and downs.
Ted, of course, has a slew of hilarious moments and great episodes that center around him, and while he can be intensely frustrating and annoying, audiences still enjoy his friendship with Marshall and his search for love - in the first few seasons at least. While many fans agree his story would have been much better with the alternate ending, he still leads an overall great show.