Grimes' Nickname For Her Son X Æ A-Xii Might Simplify That Pronunciation Debate

Grimes may have just found the perfect answer to the question of pronouncing her baby boy's unusual name. In an interview with Bloomberg about her new online art showcase, Grimes revealed the nickname she uses for her son, X Æ A-Xii when she referred to the newborn as "Little X." The nickname is even more appropriate considering that the outlet revealed that Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, prefers to go by "C" in conversation.

The singer welcomed her first child with boyfriend Elon Musk on May 4, and the billionaire soon sent the Internet into a spiral of confusion when he revealed that they had chosen to name their son X Æ A-12. The following day, Grimes broke down the meaning behind the unusual moniker on Twitter, explaining that all of the letters and symbols chosen had some kind of sentimental value to her and Musk.

"X [is for] the unknown variable," she wrote, adding that "Æ [represents] my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)." As for "A-12," the singer explained that it was a reference to the A-12 aircraft, a "precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft)." In a follow up post, she wrote that the name "sounds like the name of the main character in the story. I hope he vibes with that."

In an Instagram comment, the singer also explained to a fan that "Little X"'s full name is pronounced almost exactly as it's written. "It’s just X, like the letter X, then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I," she wrote, a few days after his birth. However, Musk offered a slightly different pronunciation of his newborn son's name during a conversation on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on May 7.

"So, it's just X, the letter x, and then the Æ is pronounced Ash," the billionaire explained. He also revealed that the unusual name was all Grimes' doing, telling Rogan that "it was my partner who actually mostly came up with the name." Despite her unusual choice, Musk seems happy, describing the singer as "brilliant" and gushed that their son's name is "great."

Pronunciation isn't the only issues that Grimes and Musk have faced when it comes to their newborn son's name; on May 24, the singer revealed that they had changed their baby's name to X Æ A-Xii. While Grimes wrote that they decided to use Roman Numerals instead of the number 12 because it "looks better," the change also complies with California law, which states that names can only consist of the 26 letters in the English alphabet, and cannot include numbers of symbols.

Despite all of the confusion — and the recent name change — it seems like Grimes and her "Little X" are doing well, even if she admitted that life as a new mom is pretty exhausting.