How Do You Pronounce Grimes’ Baby’s Name? And What Does X Æ A-12 Mean, Anyway?
***UPDATE: May 8, 2019—3:30 p.m. ET:*** Elon Musk finally revealed exactly how to pronounce his newborn son's name X Æ A-12.
During an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast Thursday (May 7), the tech billionaire told host Joe Rogan his and Grimes' baby name's is pronounced "X Ash A Twelve."
"Well, first of all, it was my partner who actually mostly came up with the name," Musk explained. "She's brilliant."
"It's just X, the letter X, and then the 'Æ' is pronounced, 'Ash,' and then, 'A-12' is my contribution," he shared, before adding that "A-12" is a nod to the "Archangel 12, the precursor to the SR-71, coolest plane ever. It’s true."
See Musk's full interview, below:
----------ORIGINAL STORY----------
Elon Musk and Grimes named their newborn baby X Æ A-12... and no one really knows what it means or how to pronounce it.
On Twitter Tuesday (May 5), Grimes made her first post-birth statement by confirming the baby's name and somewhat breaking it down. Sorta.
It appears the baby's name is possibly pronounced "ex-eye arc-angel," and that the "Archangel" part of the name was both inspired by a CIA reconnaissance aircraft as well as a metal song from Call of Duty.
On Monday night (May 4), the Tesla and SpaceX CEO announced the Canadian singer-songwriter had given birth to their first child, a baby boy. Musk confirmed the happy news by telling fans that "mom and baby" were doing good before sharing a few photos of his new bundle of joy.
Then, when asked what the child's name is, the proud father revealed the newest Musk heir is named X Æ A-12 Musk. Naturally, the unexpected moniker sent the internet into a frenzy of speculation.
It was initially unclear if this was actually the name of their child or if Musk was being cryptic or joking (he wasn't), but that didn't stop fans from trying to decipher it to hilarious outcomes. One person even came to the very complex conclusion that the child’s real name is X Ash Archangel. (Musk "liked" this theory on Twitter.)
One fan used math to come up with the name "Jão"...
...while another thinks the X means Genesis.
Another person pointed out the character Æ also appears in a song from Grimes' latest album, Miss Anthropocene.
Of course, Twitter was full of other hilarious reactions to the new Musk baby's name: