LANSING – If the 300 millionth American had been born in Michigan, what would that baby’s name be?

It depends.

Statistics compiled by the Department of Community Health show that in 2004, the most popular name for Michigan babies were Jacob for boys and Emma for girls.

“For some reason, the Web site with baby names is the most popular among all the other sites of the department,” said Michael Beebe, a senior analyst for the department. “We also have a lot of people calling in asking what are the most popular names.”

It takes the department about one year to gather and process baby names from birth certificates, and the most popular names for 2005 will be available by about early November, Beebe said.

Department listings show that Ethan, Andrew, Michael and Joshua complete the top five names for boys. Rounding up the top five for girls’ names are Madison, Emily, Olivia and Hannah.

 Jacob has been the reigning No. 1 baby boy name since the 1980s when it overtook Michael, which held the top spot from the ‘60s through the ‘70s.

The race for the top spot in the girls’ name list has seen three lead changes over the same period.

Lisa ruled the ‘60s. Jessica set the pace through the ‘70s and ‘80s before slipping to third and ceding the top spot to Emily in the ‘90s.

While Beebe isn’t sure why the department’s baby names site is so popular, he has an idea how he’ll use it in the future.

“If I were to have my own children, I would look into unique names,” Beebe said. “But I’d still look at the site to see what the most common names are.”

Laura Wattenberg, author of the book “The Baby Name Wizard” (Random House), said expectant parents check lists of popular baby names precisely because of that – to give their children unique names.

“I’ve talked to many parents, and one of their concerns is that three other kids in class would have the same name,” Wattenberg said.

Choosing a name, she said, encourages parents to imagine the future of their unborn children.

“When you first find out that you’re pregnant, the baby seems a long way away,” said Wattenberg. “But when you start choosing a name, you have to imagine your baby as a toddler, as a teenager and an adult, and it makes your unborn baby very real.”

The thought process parents go through has changed a lot over the years. The traditional Western approach is to name children in honor of an older family member, she added.

“Parents today still honor tradition but they choose names that they feel will make their children liked and successful in society,” she said. “They want to give their baby the best possible start with the best possible name.”