python - Find the most common element in a list

Question

What is an efficient way to find the most common element in a Python list?

My list items may not be hashable so can't use a dictionary. Also in case of draws the item with the lowest index should be returned. Example:

>>> most_common(['duck', 'duck', 'goose'])
'duck'
>>> most_common(['goose', 'duck', 'duck', 'goose'])
'goose'

Answer 1

A simpler one-liner:

def most_common(lst):
    return max(set(lst), key=lst.count)