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Grimes and Elon Musk’s Baby Doesn’t Call Grimes “Mom”

Here's what X Æ A-Xii actually calls their mom.

Elon Musk and Grimes at the Met Gala
GETTY

In a recent video for Vogue, singer Grimes revealed the interesting reason that her 16-month-old son X Æ A-Xii Musk does not call her “mother.”

“I think having a baby was a big rebirth for me, like artistically,” she explained while preparing for the Met Gala. “Being a mother—feels weird to say. For some reason, I don’t identify with that word.”

According to Grimes, her son actually calls her by her real name, Claire, and that despite his young age, he can already sense her discomfort with being called “mom” or “mother” despite her “respect” for everything mothers do.

“Which is also really weird because X, he says ‘Claire,’ but he doesn’t say ‘mama.’ Which is so… I’m like, ‘How are you…?’ Like, maybe he can sense my distaste for the word ‘mother.’ Which I don’t even know why I have a distaste for it, because I respect … I just can’t identify with it, weirdly.” From the start, Grimes has not been afraid to take on an unconventional approach to parenting and child-raising. Grimes gave birth to X Æ A-Xii in May 0f 2020 with her partner, Tesla founder Elon Musk. In a tweet, Grimes explained the reasoning behind the unusual name.“X, the unknown variable,” the musician wrote. “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.”

According to Grimes, their son’s name was initially going to be A-12 but they changed it to A-Xii because California law prohibits the use of numbers on birth certificates. Musk explained on Joe Rogan’s podcast that the pronunciation of their son’s name is “X Ash A Twelve.”The 33-year-old singer began dating the 50-year-old entrepreneur back in 2018. X was Grimes’ first child and Musk’s seventh child, six of whom he had with his ex-wife Jennifer Justine Wilson.