A list has been released that shows what the most popular names for babies among English-speaking North Americans in 2007.

For girls, the top 10 list consists of Emily, Isabella, Emma, Ava, Madison, Sophia, Olivia, Abigail, Hannah and Elizabeth. For boys, the big names were Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, Daniel, Christopher, Anthony, William, Matthew and Andrew.

There are a number of reasons certain names are popular. They could be named after celebrities of the day or, in some cases, in accordance to a particular family lineage.

Yet, how some people arrive upon a name for their baby borders on bizarre. There was this couple named Bowles who opted to name their daughter Rose. Rose Bowles? Now, that is just plain mean. One could speculate she had siblings named Fiesta, Cotton and (mom's favourite) Super.

Another girl's name, Laci, enjoyed a spike in popularity in 2003. Gosh, how sweet that folks would want to name their kid after Laci Peterson, who was the victim of a grisly murder the very same year.

Then there are those children who have the fortune of being born to rock stars. David Bowie named his kid Zowie and Frank Zappa begat Moon Unit and Dweezil. There was also the news that Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane called her daughter god (without the capital G). Fortunately for the kid, that turned out to be a false rumour. The daughter was named China.

If you want to keep pace with the trends, a safe bet is to give your boy a name that begins with "J."

Throughout the 50's and 60's, John continued to be among the most popular names. In the 70's and 80's, Jason and Jeremy were huge favourites. These days, Joshua and Justin are coming on strong.

If you're in Scotland or plan to move there, there are issues with names that begin with "J." On one hand, it is practically an unwritten law that you name at least one of your boys James. But unless you want him to get beaten up at school every day, don't even think of calling him Jesse.

Then there's the case of a Jamaican girl I went to high school with who was intent on - when and if the time came - naming her son after her father Jefferson. As it turned out, she married a chap named Grant Davis. They did have a son, but she had to put the kibosh on her plan.

Both she and her husband, (and probably her dad, as well), heartily agreed that Jefferson Davis - - the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War - was hardly an appropriate name for an African Canadian.

While some names enjoy popularity, other names are teetering on the brink of extinction. Boys' names that begin with "H" come to mind. Henry is hanging in there, but Homer, Horatio and Humphrey have pretty well bitten the dust.

The name Humphrey reached the zenith of its popularity in the 1880s and then fell off the radar. Even Bogey couldn't resurrect it. Considering Casablanca was a wildly successful film in 1942, and the propensity to name babies after the hot celebrities of the day, we should have an army of 66-year-old guys named Humphrey. We don't.

The popularity of CSI: Miami and its hero, Horatio Cain, may revive the fortunes of that first name, even if David Caruso is arguably the lousiest actor on prime time.

I can say with much certainty, though, that the huge success of The Simpsons will do nothing to save the name Homer...unless some couple has the same warped sense of humour as the parents of Rose Bowles.

Then there's issue of shortening names. Ronald is Ron and Richard is Rick. Those are acceptable enough.

On the other hand, Horatio is Hory and Homer is Homie (both of which are hardly flattering) and Humphrey is what? Hump? The nasty neighbourhood kids will inevitably phrase it "Hump the Lump."

If you are concerned that your kid will forever have a rhyme affixed to his or her name (Dan the Man, Phil the Pill, Jane the Pain), there's a sure-fire way to avoid that and exercise some civic spirit, as well. Name your son after town founder Orange Lawrence.

He must have had a field day with his pals. "Hey, you're Hump the Lump, Pat the Fat, and Andy the Dandy!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you're Orange the...uh...um...aw, forget it!"