Grimes revealed her nickname for her and Elon Musk’s baby son

Update, June 1st, 2020, 1:11 p.m. ET: If you thought that the name X Æ A-Xii was a bit of a mouthful, the baby’s parents agree. Grimes revealed that she and Elon Musk have a nickname that they use for their newborn son at home, and it’s super cute.

Mom Grimes revealed to Bloomberg that she calls X Æ A-Xii “Little X.” Grimes, whose given name is Claire Boucher, goes by the other nickname “C” among her friends and family, so “Little X” is a cute way for mom and baby to use similar names.

Update, May 25th, 2020, 11:44 a.m. ET: Grimes and Elon Musk chose the most unique baby name we’ve ever seen (and tried to pronounce), but it seems like they have adjusted their son’s name to comply with California laws. Don’t worry, they didn’t change the spirit of the name at all.

After welcoming Baby X Æ A-12 on May 4th, Grimes and Musk seem to have hit a roadblock with naming laws. On an Instagram post, a fan asked Grimes, “Did you change the baby name because of Californian laws? What is the baby’s new name?” Though the singer didn’t directly say that yes, they changed the name, she did reply with a few insinuations of an adjustment.

“One dash is allowed,” Grimes commented back, then she wrote, “X Æ A-Xii.”

“Xii” stands in place of where “12” used to be, but in Roman numerals, “XII” is 12. California laws state that only the “26 characters” of the alphabet are allowed in baby names. Grimes seemed to clarify that her son’s hyphen is allowed (which makes sense), but it also seems that the “Æ” is allowed as well. According to their pronunciation explanation, it still seems like their son will be called “X Ash Archangel-Twelve.”

Re-welcome to the world Baby X Æ A-Xii!

Update, May 8th, 2020, 9:24 a.m. ET: Confused about how to pronounce Grimes and Elon Musk‘s new baby’s name? Musk knows you’re not alone. Yesterday, on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he walked through exactly how to say his son’s name, and then he credited Grimes for almost the entire idea.

According to Baby X Æ A-12’s dad, X is pronounced “like the letter,” and Æ is “ash.” So, it would be “ex-ash.” The A-12 part is “Archangel-12,” which Musk said is “the precursor to the SR-71, the coolest plane ever.” Altogether, we have a pronunciation of Ex-Ash Archangel-Twelve.

That last part, he noted, Grimes described in error on Twitter. In an exchange between the couple yesterday, May 6th, Musk corrected Grimes’ explanation of the plane, which she originally called the “SR-17.”

Grimes, who gave birth only a few days ago, was quick to respond: “I am recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit. That was meant to be profound.”

Still, on the podcast yesterday, Musk credited Grimes for their new son’s name, saying “she mostly came up with the name.”

“Yeah, she’s great at names,” he said.

We’ll definitely put the creativity at 100%, but we’ll have to wait to see what California says about this “great” name on a birth certificate.

Update, May 6th, 2020, 9:27 a.m. ET: Elon Musk announced yesterday that he and Grimes welcomed a healthy baby boy. But it was their child’s name that really sent social media into a frenzy. Replying to a fan’s question on Twitter, Musk said the baby boy’s name was X Æ A-12. Now, Grimes is giving a little more context. (Thanks, Grimes. We needed it.)

In a Twitter post, the musician broke down each piece of her son’s name to explain the meaning. Specifically, “Æ,” is the “elven spelling of Ai,” and “A-12” is “precursor to SR-17,” which she says her and Musk’s favorite aircraft. In the internal design process, the Lockheed A-12 aircraft, notably, was dubbed “Archangel”—which Grimes says is also her favorite song. (Though, we’re not sure what song she’s referencing.)

It should be noted that yesterday, when Musk announced the name, a fan on Twitter said that it would be pronounced “X Ash Archangel,” and the Tesla founder “liked” the tweet. Grimes has also used one of these symbols before in the song “4ÆM,” which appears on her latest album.

However, it’s still fairly unclear if Grimes and Musk are using the code X Æ A-12 hide their child’s given name on social media or if that’s literally what’s appearing on his birth certificate. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised either way. However, California, where the baby was born, does have restrictions on baby names. There are conflicting reports on exactly what’s allowed and not, though TMZ reported that baby names in the state must only use the 26 characters in the alphabet—not symbols or numbers. (Of course, people do have names with hyphens and apostrophes, so, again, the exact rules aren’t totally clear.)

No matter what, we’re happy to hear mom and baby are doing well. Welcome to the world, X Ash Archangel. Or Baby X Æ A-12!

Original post, May 5th, 2020: Yesterday, May 4th, Grimes and Elon Musk welcomed a healthy baby boy into the world. Dad Elon was all too eager to share the joyous news with his Twitter following. He announced the arrival of his son within a Twitter thread discussing a Tesla-related controversy, and he later shared a hilarious and bizarre photo of the newborn. It’s all so ~Grimes and Musk~ and we can barely handle it.

“Mom & baby all good,” Musk tweeted at around 8:30 p.m. ET yesterday in response to a fan question.

Then, taking the conversation to another thread, Musk announced that he and Grimes named their son X Æ A-12 Musk. And, TBH, we can’t tell if he’s kidding or not.

When a few followers requested a photo of Baby X Æ A-12, Musk tweeted a pic of his son rocking a Post Malone-inspired face filter. He thanked one of his followers for the congratulations and added, “Never too young for some ink haha.”

Musk then tweeted a photo of himself holding X Æ A-12 Musk (again, we don’t know if he’s serious or not), wearing an “Occupy Mars” t-shirt. Get ready for an interesting, intergalactic life, little X Æ. If it helps, a fan commented that the baby’s name could actually be code for X Ash Archangel, and Musk “liked” the tweet.

Grimes cryptically announced her pregnancy in January, leaving some to question if she was actually pregnant or simply preparing us for the drop of an experimental new album. But, in February, the singer confirmed that she was expecting and asked for advice from mothers who have been through pregnancy before.

Grimes has yet to announce the arrival of her baby on any social media platform—she’s been a bit busy. But, by the looks of Musk’s Twitter, the family is more than excited to have a newborn in their midst. Musk already has five sons from a previous marriage. He lost another 10-month-old boy to SIDs, according to The National Post.

Welcome to the world, X Æ A-12! Or Baby Ash! (Okay, but is that actually your real name? We need answers.)