Did Grimes & Elon Musk Change Their Baby's Name Because of California Law?

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Grimes has reached a point in new motherhood that many of us know well: After giving birth and getting used to sleep deprivation, just enough fog has lifted that you’re able form a few coherent thoughts, but you’re still usually stuck on a couch or bed with one arm holding a hungry or sleeping baby. What we’re saying is, she’s back on social media, at least for long enough to inform the world that she and boyfriend Elon Musk have changed their baby’s name to comply with California’s naming rules.

While the couple previously announced that their baby boy, who was born in early May, is named X Æ A-12, California law prohibits anything but the 26 letters of the English alphabet from being entered on a child’s birth certificate form. The reason for this kind of law is both to protect the child and to make sure the name works in government databases, BabyNames.com founder Jennifer Moss told SheKnows.

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“Prior to the computer age, [naming laws] had to do with … not putting a burden on your child,” Moss said. “You can’t use profanity, obviously. You can’t do anything that would be considered emotional abuse, like naming them Adolf Hitler.”

That said, Grimes and Musk don’t appear to be concerned about any teasing their son might be subjected to. But when Grimes posted a photo of herself to Instagram over the weekend — about something completely other than her son — a fan asked if she had changed his name.

“X Æ A-Xii,” the singer replied.

To refresh your memory, Grimes earlier explained each part of her baby’s name: “X, the unknown variable. Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence). A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent. (A=Archangel, my favorite song) (⚔️🐁 metal rat).”

Musk later “helpfully” corrected her that the aircraft is an SR-71.

The A-12 is now expressed via Roman numerals. As long as you pretend they’re just letters, not numbers, that may fly with California computers.

“Roman numerals. Looks better tbh.”

Call us crazy, but the name is growing on us. It does have a certain symmetry to it now.

Here are all of our favorite unique and wacky celebrity baby names.

Launch Gallery: Unique & Often Wacky Celebrity Baby Names We Wish We'd Thought of First

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