What's in a name? The meanings behind the names of Palin's children *UPDATED*

August 29, 6:49 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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One of the things that probably struck many folks as they began to read about Sarah Palin after being named as McCain's running mate were the non-traditional names of her five children.

Palin's youngest son is named Trig Paxson Van Palin. After Trig was born, a spokesperson for Palin said that Trig is Norse for true and brave victory. His middle name, Paxson, is the name of an area of Alaska that Palin and her husband think is "one of the most beautiful spots in Alaska," according to a report on MSNBC. Palin is on record joking that she was naming Trig "Van Palin" after eighties rockers Van Halen.

Palin's 18-year-old son is named Track. Todd Palin, Sarah's husband, recently told People Magazine, "Sarah's parents were coaches and the whole family was involved in track and I was an athlete in high school, so with our first-born, I was, like, 'Track!'"

Bristol, Palin's oldest daughter, 17, means "meeting place by the bridge," according to thinkbabynames.com. Bristol is Old English and is the name of an important town in England, which many US cities were named after as well. It has not ranked in the top 1000 baby names in the US in the last 100 years. Bristol Bay is where Todd Palin grew up and fishes.

The name of 13 year old Willow is the Old English name of a tree - the willow. Last year, the SSA ranked it as #230 in popularity for baby girls. Willow is also a town in Alaska.

Piper is Palin's youngest daughter at 7 years old. Piper is an Old English name meaning pipe player or flute player. It is commonly used as a boy and a girl name. It ranked #240 on the SSA database last year and has only been in the top 1000 names since 1999. Todd Palin said to People Magazine about Piper's name, "you know, there's just not too many Pipers out there and it's a cool name."