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Grimes Says Her Son 'Can Sense My Distaste for the Word Mother' and Calls Her By Her First Name

Grimes welcomed her first child last year, but she says she prefers not to be called "mom."

The musician, 33, whose full name is Claire Elise Boucher, told Vogue in a video chronicling her 2021 Met Gala prep that her 16-month-old son X Æ A-Xii with boyfriend Elon Musk calls her by her first name.

"I think having a baby was a big rebirth for me, like artistically," she said as she prepared for fashion's biggest night. "Being a mother feels weird to say. For some reason, I don't identify with that word."

"Which is also really weird because X, he says 'Claire,' but he doesn't say 'mama.' Which is so... I'm like, 'How are you...?' " she continued. "Like, maybe he can sense my distaste for the word 'mother.' "

Elon Musk, Grimes, and X Æ A-Xii
Elon Musk, Grimes, and X Æ A-Xii

Elon Musk/Twitter Grimes and Elon Musk with their son X AE A-Xii

RELATED: Elon Musk and Grimes Share Adorable New Photos of Their 9-Month-Old Son X AE A-Xii

Grimes added, "I don't even know why I have a distaste for [the word] because I respect … I just, I don't, I can't identify with it, weirdly."

The "Art Angels" singer welcomed her son in May 2020. X Æ A-Xii is Grimes' first baby, while Musk, 50, is also dad to twins Xavier and Griffin, 17, triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian, 15. His first son, Nevada, died of SIDS in 2002 at 10 weeks old.

Grimes and Musk caused waves with their unconventional baby name last year. Grimes broke down their son's unusual name shortly after giving birth, telling her Twitter followers, "X" is "the unknown variable," while "Æ" is the elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)."

MET Gala 2021 Grimes
MET Gala 2021 Grimes

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

RELATED: Grimes Shares Adorable Video of 10-Month-Old Son X AE A-Xii Playing on a Synthesizer: 'You're So Smart'

She added that part of the baby's name was inspired by the CIA's Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance plane. "A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed," Grimes wrote. "Great in battle, but non-violent."

While they initially named him X Æ A-12, the couple later changed their son's name to X Æ A-Xii on his birth certificate. Family law attorney David Glass told PEOPLE last year, "you can't have numbers, Roman numerals, accents, umlauts or other symbols or emojis" in a legal name in California.

Grimes, Elon Musk
Grimes, Elon Musk

Taylor Hill/Getty Images Grimes (L) and Elon Musk

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Grimes first revealed her pregnancy in February 2020. In a digital cover story for Rolling Stone published a month later, the singer confirmed Musk was the father and opened up about her thoughts on motherhood.

Grimes told the outlet her song "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" was "about getting pregnant — the sort of tragedy of agreeing to it, even though it's this great thing."

She added, "For a girl, it's sacrificing your body and your freedom. It's a pretty crazy sacrifice and only half of the population has to do it. It was really profound to me when I decided I was going to do it, to actually go through the act of unprotected sex."