Grimes and Elon Musk Welcome Baby "X Æ A-12"

No, it’s not a typo.

Contents

Twitter Announcement Public Reaction The Story Behind the Name

Grimes, the Canadian singer formerly known as Clair Boucher, and Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, have welcomed into the world a son, whom they’ve named X Æ A-12 Musk.

The baby boy is the musician’s first child, and the sixth for Musk, who is father to a set of twins and a set of triplets from his previous marriage. The boy’s unconventional name now has the internet buzzing.

Twitter Announcement

Grimes has used social media to make announcements throughout her pregnancy. Rumors first started circulating when the eccentric artist tweeted a picture of an ultrasound, photoshopped over the image of her own protruding stomach. While some believed the picture was an art piece, Grimes confirmed in February that she was 25 weeks pregnant.

The child was born on Monday, and Musk announced his arrival on Tuesday by tweeting an image in which he holds the baby boy. Asked the child’s name, the eccentric billionaire tweeted simply “X Æ A-12 Musk.”

Public Reaction

The online response to the unusual name was immediate. Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram users flooded the internet with memes and jokes about the child’s moniker.

Twitter user @maryayoubi wrote, “i see X Æ A-12 trending.. im out here thinking someones found a new math formula… and its… elon musks kids name?????“

Another Twitter user, @dachlikecash, wrote, “imagine being a teacher and seeing ‘X Æ A-12’ on your attendance sheet… i would quit on the spot”.

The Story Behind the Name

Late Tuesday, Grimes released a cryptic post to Twitter, explaining the meaning of her son’s name. She wrote the following:

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)

The A-12 aircraft is also nicknamed Archangel, which Grimes says is the name of her favorite song. Æ is reportedly pronounced like the word “ash” in elven (the fabled language of elves). Some are now speculating that the name is pronounced “Ash Archangel.”

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