Babble recently released their list of “The 33 Worst Celebrity Baby Names,” which included names like Tu Morrow (daughter of Rob Morrow), Fifi Trixibell (daughter of Bob Geldof), Pilot Inspektor (son of Jason Lee), and Kal-El. (Nicolas Cage sound). I was surprised to see that Tallulah, Rumer and Scout (daughters of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis) were left behind! No one thinks twice when celebrities give their babies weird names, but most of us would no doubt get a few pained expressions or even some “What were you thinking?” comments if we name our daughter Moxie CrimeFighter, as Penn Jillette did.

It goes without saying that the choice of a boy’s name is very important. According to Janet Schwegel, author of The Baby Name Countdown, “Many parents want a unique name for their child, something that will set them apart.” They can choose an unusual name, like Gwen Stefani did recently when she named her son Zuma, or just an unusual spelling, like Erykah instead of Erika.

So how do you choose the right one? Schwegel tells us, “It’s not enough to know what a name means or where it comes from; you need to know how popular that name is.” A great place to get that information is in his book The Baby Name Countdown: 140,000 Popular and Unusual Baby Names. The book is divided into three parts:

Part 1: Top Names Top 100 Girl Names by Region

Top 100 boy names by region

The 100 best girl names from the years 2001 to 2006

The 100 best boy names from the years 2001 to 2006

Top 500 Girl Name Rankings Over The Last Century

Ranking of the 500 best male names of the last century

Part 2: Popular Names with Popularity Ratings, Origins, and Meanings

Popular girl names

popular boy names

Part 3: Popular and Unusual Names with Popularity Ratings Girl Names – The Complete List

Boys Names – The Complete List

I had a lot of fun looking at the names in this book, which have been compiled from actual birth records. Can you imagine a poor girl who goes to school and has to announce that her name is Somfechukwu? And I found it interesting that my oldest son’s name, Dylan, means “the sea” in Welsh, because he is currently studying Ocean Engineering at university! My name, Susan, means “a rose,” which has always been my favorite flower. Whether you’re expecting a baby, thinking about one, or even just finished having kids, this is a fun and engaging book to read. (I’d also recommend it to fiction writers looking for names for their characters!) Baby Name Countdown is one of the most comprehensive sources for choosing names.