I was born in the mid-70s. Growing up in Canada, I knew a few Jennifers my age, but not an inordinate amount. Not enough to strike me as odd.

It wasn't until I moved to the States in 2000 that I bumped into Jennifers my age everywhere I went, and quite often, they were lamenting the commonness of their name. They went through a number of spelling gymnastics in an effort to be unique, dropping an 'n', changing the "I" for a "Y" or substitution "ph" for "f". Clearly, there was a lot of resentment of their parents for the choice of their name.

I had heard anecdotally the reason for the preponderance of Jennifers in the 1970s - supposedly, it all traced back to the incredibly popular success of the movie Love Story. I kind of dismissed it, thinking there really couldn't have been that many moms and moms-to-be affected by that movie, but looking at the Social Security Administration's website that tracks popular baby names by year, the evidence is hard to dismiss. From 1970 - 1984, a whopping 14-year run, Jennifer was the most popular girl's name. That's quite the rise from when it first appeared on the top 1000 charts in 1938.

So, we all know Star Wars is popular. But are people naming their babies after it?

* In 1978 the name "Leia" broke the top 1000, appearing at 910. It disappeared for a year, but then returned in 1980 at 923.

* Luke's always been a popular name. It first places on the top 1000 in 1906, at 261, and stays on the charts for decades - its lowest ebb is 614 in 1942. Did Star Wars give it a boost? In 1976, it ranked 223. In 1977, it jumped up to 190. By the time Empire came out in 1980, it was up to 97. Nowadays, Luke is a very popular name. In 2005, it ranked 41.

* Han has never been in the top 1000 names in the last 100 years. But in the last 30 years, Harrison has risen from 970 to 211.

Other curiosities of pop culture:

* In 1994, Americans started naming their babies Keanu, with it being the 755th most popular baby name. It's made the top 1000 ever since.

* From 1998 to 1999, Britney jumped from 450 to 204. It's been dropping steadily since 2002.

* In 2001, Beyonce was the 702nd most popular female baby name.

* Logan was the 999th popular boy's name in 1973. By 1991, it was the 94th. By 2001, it was 29th.

* Pre-Titanic, Rose was 379 and 393 in 1995-1996. In 1998 and 1999, it jumped up to 297 and 278 respectively,

* People stopped naming their kid Bart in 1987. Homer dropped from the top 1000 in 1983. Marge disappeared in 1947, while Lisa continues to be a popular name, peaking at #1 from 1962-1969, when it was bumped the following year by Jennifer.