Unusual Baby Names

with Downy, noch!

As someone who suffered (a bit) as a child from having an unusual first name (I was called "Persil" at school for several years as a result), stories about celebrities cursing their kids in this way catch my eye. Viz the recent naming by Elon Musk & his partner Grimes of their baby boy, who is to be known as X Æ A-12. According to Jack Guy at CNN, the parents disagree on how to pronounce it:

"(Grimes) previously explained that Æ is the Elven spelling of AI, which is shorthand for artificial intelligence. 'It's just X, like the letter X. Then A.I. Like how you said the letter A then I,' wrote Grimes on Thursday in a response to a query on Instagram.

However, Muse told podcast host Joe Rogan a different pronunciation of the name in a conversation released Thursday ... 'I mean it's just X, the letter X. And then, the Æ is, like, pronounced "Ash" ... and then, A-12.'"

This reminds me of the character 5 in Peanuts:

But in the end, the last word has to go to Caitlin Moran, who noted yesterday in the Times:

"Ever keen not to pass judgment, I wish  merely to observe that, in naming their child, Musk and Grimes appear to have chosen a "strong" password, comprising letters, numerals and punctuation, and if it takes naming your baby that to remember how to log into your Gmail account, fair enough."

Thank you for laughing at her joke.