Grimes Reveals the Nickname She Calls Her Baby After Name Change

After Elon Musk and Grimes had to revise their child's name, the singer revealed the nickname she calls her newborn son.

By Derek Scancarelli May 30, 2020 4:52 PMTags
Watch: How to Say Elon Musk & Grimes' Baby Name: X Æ A-12

For all those still confused as to how to pronounce Grimes and Elon Musk's child's name, there is much reason to be relieved.

On Monday May 4, the 32-year-old singer and 48-year-old Tesla leader welcomed their baby into the world, explaining via Twitter that their son's name was X Æ A-12 Musk.

But in the time since, the couple had to slightly modify the spelling of their child's name in order to meet California's legal guidelines, which only permit letters from the English alphabet. Switching over to roman numerals, the parents agreed to spell his name, X Æ A-Xii.

In a new profile by Bloomberg, the "Genesis" singer revealed her nickname for her newborn, "Little X." The cute moniker is much simpler than his birth name, which Grimes and Musk have broken down.

"X, the unknown variable," Grimes explained on Twitter. "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."

Grimes continued, "A=Archangel, my favorite song" with an accompanying a rat and sword emoji. "Metal rat."

Musk later clarified that she was actually referencing an SR-71, a Lockheed aircraft operated by NASA and the United States Air Force.

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But the couple hasn't exactly seen eye to eye on the precise pronunciation of their child's name. In an Instagram comment, Grimes explained to a curious fan that the child's name is pronounced, saying, "it's just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I."

However, during a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Musk had his own take on the name.

"How do you say the name?" Joe Rogan asked. "Is it a placeholder?"

"First of all, my partner is the one who mostly came up with the name," Musk said after a chuckle. "She's great with names. So, I mean, it's just X, the letter X, and then the Æ is pronounced Ash. A-12 was my contribution."

"Oh, why A-12?" Rogan asked.

"Archangel-12, the precursor to the SR-71, the coolest plane ever," the SpaceX engineer explained.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Grimes also presented another revelation to Bloomberg: she's selling various items as part of an online art exhibition, including prints, photographs and even part of her soul.

But how do you buy a piece of someone's soul? Through a legal document, called "Selling Out," of course.

"The deeper we got with it, the more philosophically interesting it became," Grimes told Bloomberg. "Also, I really wanted to collaborate with my lawyer on art. The idea of fantastical art in the form of legal documents just seems very intriguing to me."

In a copy of the contract posted online, the document defines Grimes' soul as follows:

The "Soul" of Grimes:

(i) consists of the spiritual, immaterial and immortal essence of Grimes, which exists independently of and distrinctly from her physical being, but is the essence of life itself;

(ii) is mutable in time but immutable in space, containing eternal truth and wisdom;

(iii) is imbued with the knowledge of the good and with honor; and

(iv) contains perceptive, rational, and contemplative powers that enable it be close to the source of all things in the Universe. 

If you wish to buy Grimes' soul, you can visit the Maccarone Gallery's website, review the contract and submit a bid.