Grimes says she and Elon Musk have slightly changed — though not necessarily simplified — their child X Æ A-12‘s serial number name, though it still looks more like a one-time password than a human moniker.
The Canadian singer told her Instagram followers on Sunday that the child formerly known as X Æ A-12 Musk is now X Æ A-Xii Musk. The tweak essentially turns the number 12 into its Roman numeral equivalent, XII, and adds another X to an already “eXtreme” baby name.
Grimes, who was born in Canada as Claire Elise Boucher, shared the update in response to a question about the couple’s battle with California naming laws. Their first draft of the child’s name reportedly didn’t conform with the state’s birth certificate rules, which dictate that only the 26 letters from the alphabet may be used.
The new version of the name drops the numbers, but does not remove the exotic Æ character, which is known as “ash.”
It’s unclear if California will accept the new version of the name, or if there will be another, potentially final form of X Æ A-Xii down the road.
It’s also entirely possible that this kid grows up and changes his name to something more realistic, like Jim, once he turns 18.
Musk has not commented on the name adjustment, though he did say that the child is “cute as a button” in a tweet on Sunday.
Grimes provided an update of her own on Sunday, saying she and the baby are “tired but OK” right now.
Grimes gave birth to her first child with Musk on May 4. The Tesla and SpaceX founder announced his child’s name on Twitter the following day, instantly sending the internet into a meme-fuelled frenzy of mockery.
The couple has repeatedly tried to explain the name over social media, though their explanations haven’t always been in sync.
According to Grimes, the first “X” is for the “unknown variable” in math, Æ is her “elven spelling of A.I.” and “A-12” is a reference to the Lockheed A-12 Archangel, the precursor to the couple’s “favourite aircraft.”
Grimes tweeted that their “favourite aircraft” was the SR-17, but Musk later stepped in to correct his girlfriend on Twitter. “SR-71, but yes,” he wrote in response to her initial tweet.
She later explained that the child’s name is pronounced as a series of individual letters and a number. In effect, it’s “X-A-I-A-12.”
But that’s not how Elon Musk says it. “It’s just X, the letter X,” he said during an interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast on May 7. “And then the A.E. is pronounced ‘Ash,'” he continued, prompting Rogan to start laughing. “Yeah, and then A-12, A-12 is my contribution,” he said.
In other words, Musk calls the child “X-Ash-A-12.”
Musk says Grimes largely came up with the name. “Yeah, she’s great at names,” he claimed.
If California rejects the new name, Grimes may have to come up with another version that she and Musk can agree on — one that replaces Æ with “Ash” or “A.I.”
It’s another bit of legal red tape for Musk to tangle with in California, where the billionaire entrepreneur has become increasingly frustrated with the state’s coronavirus rules. Musk has repeatedly called for “freedom” from the lockdowns, and he threatened to move his Tesla operations out of the state.
He has also vowed to “own no house,” and followed up on that vow by putting several of his California homes up for sale earlier this month.
Musk has five other children from a previous marriage: Griffin, Xavier, Damian, Saxon and Kai.
The inventor hasn’t said much about the baby formerly known as X Æ A-12 in recent days.
Musk’s focus appears to be focused on his other “baby”: SpaceX, and its upcoming attempt to launch two astronauts into orbit on Wednesday.
If successful, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will become the first two people sent into orbit by a private company.
That would be one small step for Elon Musk — and one giant leap for two guys named Bob and Doug.
—With files from The Associated Press
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