Elon Musk and Grimes have changed their baby's name: 'Roman numerals look better'
Elon Musk and singer Grimes have revealed they have made some changes to the unusual name they gave their baby son.
The couple shared that they’d named their baby X Æ A-12 on social media earlier this month, leaving the Internet scratching their heads about their unique choice of moniker.
However, the tech entrepreneur and singer have had to make some tweaks to their son’s name, but anyone hoping for anything a little more conventional are likely to be disappointed.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Grimes, whose birth name is Claire Boucher, confirmed that the baby formerly known as X Æ A-12 would now go by the name of X Æ A-Xii.
The new mum was responding to a post asking if the alteration was made to comply with a California law.
“Did you change the baby name because of Californian laws? What is the baby's new name?” the user asked with Grimes simply responding. “X Æ A-Xii.”
Read more: Katy Perry admits to experiencing 'waves of depression' while pregnant in quarantine
Another follower commented: “Nice! Just removed the numbers to conform to California law.”
“Roman numerals. Looks better tbh,” she responded.
While Grimes didn’t confirm the reason for the change to using roman numerals, the addition of Roman numerals in place of the final digits is believed to be a way of getting around the Californian law, which forbids the inclusion of numbers in a legal name.
The roman symbol for the number 10 is X and the numeral for the number two is ii. These can added together to make 12, which is written Xii in Roman numerals.
“One dash is allowed,” Grimes later responded to a further query on the topic.
Read more: Celebrities who are pregnant or have given birth during lockdown
The couple appeared to have slightly different ways of interpreting and pronouncing their son’s name.
The musician, previously headed to Twitter to explain the meaning behind the moniker.
“X, the unknown variable,” she tweeted.
“Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence),” Grimes continued, before sharing that a part of her son's name is a nod to the couple’s favourite aircraft. “A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent.”
•X, the unknown variable ⚔️
•Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)
•A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent 🤍
+
(A=Archangel, my favorite song)
(⚔️🐁 metal rat)— ꧁ ༒ Gℜiꪔ⃕es ༒꧂ 🍓🐉🎀 小仙女 (@Grimezsz) May 6, 2020
Read more: Grimes models baby bump for Italian Vogue prior to giving birth
But the baby’s father seemed to have a slightly different view on how it should be enunciated.
“I mean it's just X, the letter X, and the ‘Æ’ is pronounced, ‘Ash’,” he revealed on a podcast with Joe Rogan.
He said that A-12 meant: “Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever.”
Even the baby’s grandmother has added her own twist on the name tale, revealing the sweet nickname she has for her new grandson.
Heading to Twitter Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, offered her congratulations as she welcomed her new grandchild’s birth, and revealed that she refers to the baby as ‘X’.
Musk and Grimes have been dating for more than two years and made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2018 Met Gala, but Grimes admitted she was not prepared for the attention surrounding their relationship.
“No one believes me about this, but I just did not understand what I was getting into at all,” she said. “Not that I'm mad about it. I just didn't think it would be a thing.”