There are a few articles floating around on the Internet that explain the meanings behind the names of the Palin children. There is only documented information on sons Track and Trig, and oldest daughter Bristol. The rest is speculation:

A dedicated runner, she named her older son Track because he was born during that sport’s season 18 years ago.

Her youngest is 4-month-old Trig Paxson, whose first name is Norse for “true” or “strength” and whose middle name comes from one of his mother’s favorite spots in Alaska.

Her three daughters are Bristol, 17, Willow, 14, and Piper, 7.

Palin said the eldest girl was named after Bristol Bay, where the family fishes.

She hasn’t explained the other girls’ names, but there’s a town in Alaska called Willow and Piper brings to mind the Piper Super Cub, a bush plane popular in her state.

Experts said the offbeat names suggest Palin is an outside-the-box thinker who desperately wants to give her kids an edge.

“A lot of times when parents choose unusual names they’re looking to make their children stand out above the crowd,” said Albert Mehrabian, a professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA and author of the book “The Baby Name Report Card.”

Mehrabian said the selection of Track and Trig shows that Palin wants her boys to grow up to be full of machismo.

“Short names like these are given by people who want their kids to be masculine,” Mehrabian said. “She’s athletic, she’s coached kids, so maybe that’s part of her value system.”

Willow is an earthy, feminine name, while Piper is more adventurous, the experts said. Bristol is in line with a modern tradition of naming people after places.

Together, the five names stunned one maven.

“In my 20 years in the field and after writing nine baby-name books, I gotta say [she] stumped the master,” said Pamela Satran, co-author of the book “The Baby Name Bible.

“I’ve never heard of those.”

Please. Everyone is looking too hard at the figurative level here. Sarah Palin would give her kids practical names. As in, where/how they were conceived.

Track: Although he was born during track season (in April) he most likely was conceived on or near a track.

Bristol: Like Sarah Palin said, she in fact named her first daughter after Bristol Bay where the family fishes. Bristol was conceived in lovemaking session on a boat.

Willow: Well, she was conceived in the town of Willow, Alaska. Or her parents made whoopie under a willow tree.

Piper: The youngest of the three daughters was conceived high in the sky in a Piper airplane. Her parents have since been members of the Mile High Club.

Trig: He may really be named after the Norse word for “strengh”, since Sarah and Todd Palin are getting up there in age. It probably took a lot to create new life. The Free Online Dictionary provides an alternate definition for ‘trig’: to prop up; support. This child was named after how he was conceived. The middle name indeed comes from one of his mother’s favorite spots.

Who knows what Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston will name their future child? Possible selections are Under-the-Bleachers and Parents-Bedroom-While-Mom-Was-Out-of-Town.