Honestly, trying to keep up with Elon Musk’s family tree is a bit like trying to track a SpaceX booster on reentry—it’s fast, slightly chaotic, and there’s usually a surprise landing. By early 2026, the count stands at 14 children with four different women. It’s a lot. And if you’re confused about the elon musk children's name situation, you aren't alone. One of his own daughters has reportedly joked about how hard it is to keep the headcount straight.
Most people know the "X" name. You know the one—the string of characters that looked more like a Wi-Fi password than a human name. But the story goes way deeper than just one quirky birth announcement. From tragic loss to secret surrogates and a full-blown "pronatalist" philosophy, the names Musk chooses are basically a roadmap of his obsessions: space, AI, Tolkien, and ancient history.
The First Chapter: Justine Wilson and the IVF Years
Before the Mars rockets and the Twitter (now X) takeover, there was Justine Wilson. She was Musk’s first wife, a Canadian author he met at Queen’s University. Their journey into parenthood started with a heartbreak that most people forget or never knew about.
In 2002, they had their first son, Nevada Alexander Musk. Tragically, Nevada died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at just 10 weeks old. It’s the kind of loss that fundamentally changes a person. After that, the couple turned to IVF to build their family, leading to a decade of relatively "normal" names by Musk standards.
In 2004, the twins arrived: Griffin and Vivian. Now, this is where things get complicated. Vivian was born Xavier, but in 2022, she legally changed her name to Vivian Jenna Wilson. She didn't just change her gender identity; she officially cut ties with her father, stating she no longer wished to be related to him in any way.
Then came the triplets in 2006: Kai, Saxon, and Damian.
- Kai means "sea" in Hawaiian.
- Saxon is likely a nod to the Germanic tribes.
- Damian comes from the Greek "to tame."
These five boys (and later Vivian) grew up mostly out of the spotlight, though biographer Walter Isaacson recently noted that Damian is a math and physics prodigy who also plays classical piano.
The Grimes Era: When Names Got "Experimental"
If the first set of names was traditional, the second set—with Canadian musician Grimes—was a total glitch in the matrix. When their first son was born in May 2020, the internet actually broke trying to figure out how to say X Æ A-12.
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Because California law is pretty boring and insists on using the 26 letters of the English alphabet, they had to tweak it to X Æ A-Xii.
- X is the "unknown variable."
- Æ is Grimes’s elven spelling of AI.
- A-12 is the Archangel-12, the precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird (Musk’s favorite plane).
They call him "X." He’s basically Musk’s shadow now, often seen sitting on his lap during government meetings or SpaceX launches.
Then came the daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, born via surrogate in 2021. They call her "Y." Or sometimes just "?". Grimes explained that Exa refers to the supercomputing term exaFLOPS, while Sideræl is a more "elven" spelling of sidereal—true cosmic time.
The "secret" third child with Grimes, Techno Mechanicus, only came to light in late 2023. His nickname is "Tau," a mathematical constant. It’s a lot to put on a toddler, but then again, these aren't exactly typical toddlers.
The Neuralink Connection: Shivon Zilis
While the world was focused on the Grimes drama, Musk was quietly expanding his family with Shivon Zilis, a top executive at his company, Neuralink. In November 2021—just weeks before "Y" was born—Zilis gave birth to twins.
Their names are Strider Sekhar Sirius and Azure Astra Alice.
Recently, Musk finally cleared up the inspiration behind these. Strider is a tribute to Aragorn from Lord of the Rings and the Indian physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Azure (now sometimes called Comet Azure) is named after a powerful spell in the video game Elden Ring.
But they didn't stop there. In 2024 and 2025, Zilis and Musk added two more to the "Neuralink" branch:
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- Arcadia: A daughter born in February 2024.
- Seldon Lycurgus: A son born in late 2024.
"Seldon" is almost certainly a nod to Hari Seldon, the protagonist of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series—a man who uses math to predict the future of civilization. "Lycurgus" refers to the legendary lawgiver of Sparta.
The Surprise 14th: Ashley St. Clair
The most recent addition to the list of elon musk children's name is Romulus, born in late 2024 to author and influencer Ashley St. Clair. This one has been a bit more contentious. While St. Clair has been vocal on X about Musk being the father, the relationship seems more distant than with Zilis or Grimes. Romulus, of course, is the legendary founder of Rome.
Why Does He Have So Many Kids?
It’s not just a hobby. Musk is a vocal "pronatalist." He genuinely believes that if the smartest people on Earth don't have more children, civilization will collapse into a demographic "black hole." He’s not just talking the talk; he’s building a literal $35 million compound in Austin, Texas, to house as many of his children and their mothers as possible.
A Quick Reference for the 14 Musk Children
To keep it simple, here is the breakdown of the names and mothers:
With Justine Wilson:
- Nevada Alexander (Deceased)
- Griffin (Twin)
- Vivian Jenna (Twin)
- Kai (Triplet)
- Saxon (Triplet)
- Damian (Triplet)
With Grimes (Claire Boucher):
- X Æ A-Xii (X)
- Exa Dark Sideræl (Y)
- Techno Mechanicus (Tau)
With Shivon Zilis:
- Strider Sekhar
- Azure Astra (Comet Azure)
- Arcadia
- Seldon Lycurgus
With Ashley St. Clair:
- Romulus
What This Means for the Future
Most of Musk's younger children are being raised in an environment where "normal" isn't a word that exists. They are named after stars, algorithms, and Spartan legislators. They are growing up on the grounds of SpaceX and the headquarters of X.
The biggest takeaway here isn't just the weird spellings. It’s the fact that Musk views his children as part of his legacy in the same way he views Mars—as a way to ensure the survival of consciousness. Whether they’ll all want to be part of that "protégé" plan, like Vivian did, remains to be seen.
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Next Steps for the Curious:
If you're interested in how these family dynamics play out in Musk's business decisions, you should definitely check out the latest chapters of Walter Isaacson's biography or look into his "pronatalist" tweets on X. Understanding his views on birth rates explains a lot more about his life than any tabloid headline ever could.