The Brief: Elon Musk and Grimes named their baby X Æ A-12, inspiring memes about their name choice and parenting style.

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DEEP DIVE

On May 4, 2020, Elon Musk and Grimes shared the name of their newborn baby, X Æ A-12, and memes inevitably followed. With Musk and Grimes’ notorious eccentricity, this unique name comes as no surprise. However, even among celebrity baby names like North, Gravity, and Banjo, X Æ A-12 is a bit unusual.

What Does X Æ A-12 Mean?

Neither Elon nor Grimes have clarified the meaning or pronunciation of their child’s name, but some people have speculated that the name is a way of writing out “X Ash Archangel” with Æ being an e-ligature named ash and A-12 being an aircraft known as “Archangel.” Although it may look like a mathematical equation or piece of computer code, the name does not seem to be either.

Elon Musk & Grimes Baby Name Memes

Elon Musk and Grimes’ choice of baby names has inspired numerous X Æ A-12 memes, many of which joke about the pronunciation of the name or suggest that the baby will have alien or robot-like qualities. Their baby name choice fits in perfectly with Elon Musk and Grimes’ parenting style which included a cryptic and other-worldly pregnancy announcement.

A welcome message from the “Los Feliz Daycare” parody account:

An apt reference to that epic Key & Peele sketch:

X Æ A-12 from memes

Thanks Dad from elonmusk

Note: this is (probably) not how X Æ A-12 is actually pronounced.