Move Over Chelsea, Jenna, and Barbara... it's Time for Trig, Malia, and Bristol!

o matter who you voted for in the presidential election, one thing is clear: American baby naming has changed, as reflected by the names of the candidates’ young children.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s two daughters are named Malia Ann and Sasha, short for Natasha.

Malia, pronounced Ma-LEE-ah, is the Hawaiian form of Mary, a nod to Senator Obama’s connections to that island state. Mary, the most popular name for 400 years before beginning a long descent in the 1950s, means “bitter” in Hebrew. A starred name in The Baby Name Bible, we say Malia “makes Grandma Mary or Maria’s name fresh and modern.” Appropriately enough, the Obamas’ elder daughter was born on the Fourth of July.

Little sister Sasha’s stylish name is short for Natasha, itself a Russian diminutive of Natalie, which means, “born on Christmas.” The most famous Natasha is a character in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. In Russia, Sasha is usually the short form of Alexandra or Alexander. Though used for children of both sexes, it’s taken off in the U.S. - especially for girls - and is holding steady at #350 on the Social Security’s name popularity list. Strong yet soft, it strikes the perfect balance between fitting in and standing out.

Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has made headlines with the unusual names of her five Alaska-born children, all of which reflect significant places or things in the Palins’ life.

Oldest son Track was reportedly named after the place he was conceived (a new trend among parents) though most choices run toward more romantic locales like Savannah or Paris. But Sarah’s husband, Todd, 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!'"

Palin confirmed that daughter Bristol was named for Bristol Bay, where Palin grew up and where the couple fishes commercially. Willow is named for a community in Alaska - though her name is also gaining favor as a nature moniker after the graceful tree.

Piper is fashionable as both a musical name and part of the newly stylish class of occupational names – Bailey, Cooper, Parker. Palin told People, “There’s just not too many Pipers out there and it’s a cool name.”

Youngest son Trig Paxson follows what seems to be the family tradition of giving all the boys one-syllable names that start with “T." Trig is a Norse name that means “strength,” and Paxson is another Alaska place name. It also relates to trendy names and spellings like Jaxson, and to names that mean peace, like Brangelina’s son, Pax.