--- title: "Elon Musk’s Strange Baby Name May Be Illegal" description: "Elon Musk and Grimes' new baby name, \"X Æ A-12 Musk,\" is so unusual, experts are saying it could actually go against California law." date: "2020-05-06" modified: "2020-05-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-strange-baby-name-illegal" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "grimes" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk’s Strange Baby Name May Be Illegal ![Elon Musk and Grimes' new baby name, "X Æ A-12 Musk," is so unusual, experts are saying it could actually go against California law.]() *\Image: Elon Musk via Twitter\* ## Legal Challenge SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his partner, musician Claire "Grimes" Boucher, [announced yesterday]() that they'd named their newborn "X Æ A-12 Musk" — a name that, well, defies convention. It's a name so confoundingly strange, in fact, that experts are saying it could actually go against the law in California, where the couple resides. "X Æ A-12 isn’t likely to pass legal muster," Laura Wattenberg, the author of a book about baby names, [told *Slate*](). ## Name Game And even if authorities cleared the name for a birth certificate, it's likely to run into issues with official databases. "California, like many states, defines names as consisting of letters — specifically the 26 letters of the English alphabet," Wattenberg told *Slate*. "It’s not only hard to spell and remember and virtually unpronounceable; it’s not even easily typable and no forms or databases will accept it." In other words, Grimes and Musk may have just blessed their own newborn with its own Y2K moment before it even learns how to spell — let alone type — its own name. ## Favorite Aircraft And yes, that is the baby's actual name, as Boucher [confirmed today](). Here's her [confusing explanation](): "X" represents an "unknown variable." "Æ" is Grimes' "elven spelling of Ai." "A-12" is allegedly the couple's "favorite aircraft." It's unclear whether schoolyard bullies will even know how to start with this one. **READ MORE:** [What Does Elon Musk and Grimes’ Baby Name Actually Mean?]() \[*Slate*\] **More on the saga:** [ELON MUSK AND GRIMES HAVE BABY, CLAIM TO NAME IT “X Æ A-12”]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()