Grimes Reveals Easier Nickname for Son With SpaceX Founder Elon Musk

Since pronouncing X Æ A-12 is difficult even for his parents, both musician Grimes and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have come up with nicknames for him and have been forced to explain how on earth anyone will pronounce the name. In a new interview with Bloomberg, Grimes said she simply calls her son “Little X” for short. Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, reportedly calls the baby “X.”

X Æ A-12 was born on May 4, and the name instantly sparked discussion. After he was born, Musk told Joe Rogan Grimes was mostly responsible for the name and explained how to pronounce the name. X is pronounced “like the letter,” while Æ is pronounced like “ash.” The “A-12” part of the name is a reference to the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft the CIA used, and said that was his contribution. “The Archangel-12, the precursor to the SR-71, the coolest plane ever,” Musk told Rogan.

Aside from the uniqueness of the name, it sparked fascination because Grimes and Musk do not seem to be on the same page about its origins. In her own social media posts, Grimes explained, “It’s just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I.” On Twitter, Grimes said the X stood for the “unknown variable” and Æ was the “elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial Intelligence).”

As if all that was not confusing enough, X Æ A-12’s name actually had to be changed legally under California law. A supervisor at the Department of Public Health Vital Records Office in Los Angeles told TMZ the couple can only legally name their son with letters from the alphabet, so special symbols and numbers will not work. Little X’s official name will be “X Æ A-XII Musk,” with the “12” created using Roman numerals.

This is the first child for Grimes, a Vancouver-born performer whose full name is Claire Elise Boucher. She began dating Musk in 2018 and released her latest album, Miss Anthropocene, in February. As for Musk, he shares custody of five sons with his first wife, author Justine Wilson. The couple, married from 2000 to 2008, had one son who died from sudden infant death syndrome. In 2004, they welcomed twins and in 2006, they welcomed triples,all via in vitro fertilization. Musk was also married to actress Talulah Riley from 2010 to 2012 and 2013 until 2016.