Helping us out. Elon Musk finally explained how to pronounce the name of his newborn son, X Æ A-12, with girlfriend Grimes during an interview with Joe Rogan on Thursday, May 7.

“First of all, my partner is the one [who] actually mostly came up with the name,” the entrepreneur, 48, began. “It’s just X, the letter x, and then Æ is pronounced ‘ash’ and then A-12, A-12 is my contribution, archangel 12 the precursor to the SR-71, the coolest plane ever, it’s true.”

Pronunciation isn’t the only question fans have about the little boy’s name. Others wondered just how the moniker would appear on legal paperwork. According to The Guardian, California only allows names “using the 26 alphabetical letters of the English language” — which would mean the character Æ and the number 12 aren’t allowed.

elon-musk-and-baby
Courtesy of Elon Musk/Twitter

In June, TMZ helped clear up those questions when it obtained the baby’s birth certificate. The document shows the couple really did name their son X Æ A-12 — though it’s styled a little differently. On the document, the Æ appears as the letters A and E, and the number twelve is in roman numerals. That means, legally speaking, the boy’s birth name is X AE A-XII Musk.

Although welcoming a baby during the coronavirus pandemic isn’t ideal, the father said the family is adjusting well, and he is enjoying life with a little one. “It’s better being older and having a kid,” he explained. “I appreciate it more. Babies are awesome.”

The proud parents announced their son’s birth on Monday, May 4. The billionaire took to the comments of a tweet from CleanTechnica about his Tesla Model S car to share the latest. “News on baby?” a fan asked the billionaire. “A few hours away,” he responded. Four hours later, Elon was delighted to report “Mom & baby all good.”

The Tesla owner went on to share a few photos of the infant and even used a cool filter that gave his son some badass face tattoos. “Never too young for some ink haha,” the dad joked.

After sharing their son’s unique moniker, Grimes, 32, went on to explain the meaning behind the name on Twitter. “X, the unknown variable,” she wrote on Wednesday, May 5, describing each character in his name. “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).”

In the comments of her tweet, she added, “I think it sounds like the name of the main character in the story Ringed Planet I hope he vibes with that. OK, going back into the pain/ beauty reverie for [some] time, just came on to add my thoughts. Peace to all.”

Elon and Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, went public with their relationship after attending the Met Gala together in May 2018. Two years later, they were elated to share they were expecting. Congrats to the parents and their baby with the coolest name around!

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