SQL: Numbering the rows returned by a SELECT statement

Question

Suppose I have a SELECT statement that returns some set of results. Is there some way I can number my results in the following way:

SELECT TOP 3 Name FR

Answer 1

You could also do it with a temp table:

SELECT TOP 3 Name FROM PuppyNames ORDER BY NumberOfVotes DESC

becomes

CREATE TABLE #RowNumberTable (
    RowNumber int IDENTITY (1,1),
    PuppyName varchar(MAX)
)
INSERT #RowNumberTable (PuppyName)
SELECT TOP 3 Name FROM PuppyNames ORDER BY NumberOfVotes DESC
SELECT * from #RowNumberTable ORDER BY RowNumber
DROP TABLE #RowNumberTable

If you'll notice, your SELECT statement is in there. It is just surrounded by stuff that makes the row numbers work.