Technology billionaire Elon Musk, 48, and singer Grimes, 32, welcomed a healthy baby boy this week.
And the entrepreneur got the world talking when he revealed the name of their baby in a tweet, the somewhat unusual choice of X Æ A-12.
When Musk tweeted, "Mom & baby all good," a fan replied saying: "We need the name we literally need it".
Musk then quickly responded, saying: "X Æ A-12 Musk". It was here that he also confirmed he had welcomed a son.
How to pronounce X Æ A-12
Both parents have since taken to social media to clear up the mass confusion over how to pronounce their son's name, although it seems they each have slightly different ideas.
New mum, Grimes explained X as "the unknown variable" and the choice of Æ to honour the "elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence)".
She added that "A-12 [is the] precursor to SR-17 (our favourite aircraft). No weapons, no defences, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent" and said that the A is for Archangel, her "favourite song".
Given Grimes's explanation, baby X Æ A-12's name would be pronounced "Zai-ah", like the name Isaiah without the first syllable.
Musk has since added an interpretation of his own, explaining to podcast presenter Joe Rogan, "it is X, the letter X. The A E [Æ] is pronounced 'Ash' ... and then A-12 is my contribution [for] Archangel-12 the precursor to the SR-71, the coolest plane ever."
"My partner is the one who actually mostly came up with the name," he said. "She is great at names."
Given that each parent seems to have a different interpretation of the name, it's no surprise that many people on the internet also have varying ideas of how it might be pronounced.
Redditor NewFolgers, went into more detail, writing: "The name for the ligature Æ is 'ash' ... so in the name, it may be pronounced that way.
"The Lockheed A-12 was part of the Archangel internal design effort ... So maybe they're thinking: X Ash Archangel Musk".
Others have suggested that the X with the Æ [Ash] and A could be pronounced Sasha, making the baby Sasha Musk.
There is also the possibility, looking to Middle English, that the Æ will simply have an 'eh' pronunciation, if you take the example of King Æthelstan, which is pronounced Ethelstan. In that case, baby Musk's name would be more like 'Xea', pronounced 'Zey-ah'.
Musk is already father to five sons, Damian, Griffin, Xavier, Saxon and Kai from his first marriage to Justine Wilson. The couple lost their first child, a boy named Nevada, to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in 2000.
With baby X Æ A-12, there is a clear influence from Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, and who has a song called 4ÆM on her 2019 album, Miss Anthropocene.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
Record breaker
- The most total field goals made in NBA history, as well as the most consecutive games scoring 10 or more points
- The only player in NBA history to reach 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
- Four-time regular season MVP and four-time NBA Finals MVP
- Six-time NBA All-Defensive selection. Rookie of the Year in 2004
- The most All-NBA selections with 21 in a row, including a record 13 first team selections
- The most consecutive All-Star selections with 21
- The only player to play alongside his son; Bronny James was chosen by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
GAC GS8 Specs
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Price: From Dh149,900
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
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MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
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