Grimes and Elon Musk gave their baby an unusual name and it immediately went viral on social media.
And just when you thought you’d already learned how to spell and pronounce it correctly, the couple already decided to change it.
Earlier this month, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk shared the birth of their baby boy in a Twitter post, announcing that his son will be called “X Æ A-12 Musk.”
However, after this, speculation quickly arose that the unusual moniker might fall foul of California law, where it is stated that names can only use the 26 alphabetical characters of the English language, based on their state constitution.
On Sunday, Grimes shared a new photo on Instagram, gaining comments from fans.
One Twitter user commented on the post:
“Did you change the baby name because of Californian laws? What is the baby’s new name?”
The singer then responded:
“X Æ A-Xii”
Grimes didn’t give a confirmation about the reason why they changed their baby’s name, but she only said in response to another comment that:
“Roman numerals. Looks better tbh.”
For their fans who were intrigued by their baby’s unique name, Grimes previously explained the meaning behind it. The Canadian musician said:
“X” stands for “the unknown variable.”
Meanwhile, “Æ” is the Elven spelling of AI, which is shorthand for artificial intelligence and the word for “love” in several languages, including Japanese.
“A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent,”
According to her, The “A” in the name also represents “Archangel,” which she described as her favorite song.
After breaking down the name’s meaning, fans were also intrigued as to how to pronounce the name correctly, and surprisingly, the couple seems to have different interpretations.
Grimes wrote in response to an inquiry on Instagram:
“It’s just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I.”
However, Elon Musk told podcast host Joe Rogan a different pronunciation of the name, saying:
“I mean it’s just X, the letter X. And then, the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘Ash’… and then, A-12, A-12 is my contribution.”
The baby, now known as X Æ A-Xii, is the couple’s first child together. Musk has five other children from his previous marriage, the twins Griffin and Xavier, and the triplets Damian, Saxon, and Kai.