Trying to keep track of the names of Elon Musk's children is basically a full-time job at this point. One minute you think you’ve got the count down, and the next, a biography or a random tweet reveals a new "secret" addition to the family tree. Honestly, it’s a lot. We aren't just talking about a couple of kids with quirky names; as of early 2026, the total count has hit 14.
Most people know the headlines. They remember the viral confusion over the "unpronounceable" name of his first son with Grimes. But the full list is a wild mix of traditional names, mythological references, and high-level physics jargon. It’s a literal timeline of Elon's life, from his early days as a rising tech star to his current status as a multi-planetary mogul.
The First Chapter: Justine Wilson and the Early Years
Elon’s journey into fatherhood started with his first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson. They met at Queen's University, and their family story is honestly heartbreaking and hopeful all at once.
Their first son, Nevada Alexander Musk, was born in 2002. Tragically, he passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when he was just 10 weeks old. It’s a piece of the story people often skip over, but it clearly shaped how the couple approached building their family afterward.
They turned to IVF for their next children. In 2004, they welcomed twins: Griffin Musk and Vivian Jenna Wilson. You might remember Vivian making news a few years back when she legally changed her name and gender, choosing to take her mother’s maiden name to distance herself from her father.
Two years later, in 2006, the couple had triplets—all boys: Kai, Saxon, and Damian. These three have stayed mostly out of the spotlight, though Elon has occasionally mentioned their education at Ad Astra, the experimental school he founded.
📖 Related: Brandi Love Explained: Why the Businesswoman and Adult Icon Still Matters in 2026
The Grimes Era: When the Names Got Weird
If the first six kids had relatively "normal" names, things took a sharp turn into the sci-fi lane when Elon started dating the singer Grimes (Claire Boucher). This is where the internet really lost its mind.
In May 2020, they welcomed X Æ A-Xii.
Yeah, that one.
Originally, the name was X Æ A-12, but California law is apparently pretty strict about not using numbers in names, so they swapped it for Roman numerals. Elon explained on Joe Rogan’s podcast that "X" is the unknown variable, "Æ" is his "elven" spelling of AI, and "A-12" refers to the Archangel-12, the precursor to the SR-71 aircraft.
Then came their daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, born via surrogate in December 2021. They call her "Y." "Exa" refers to the supercomputing term exaFLOPS, while "Sideræl" is a more elven-style spelling of sidereal, which refers to "star time."
The world didn't even know about their third child until Walter Isaacson’s biography dropped. Techno Mechanicus Musk, nicknamed "Tau," was born in June 2022. It’s a name that sounds like a character from a Warhammer 40k game, but in the Musk world, it’s just another Tuesday.
The Shivon Zilis Expansion
While the public was busy tracking the Grimes drama, Elon was also growing a family with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his company Neuralink. This part of the timeline gets a bit overlapping and confusing.
👉 See also: Melania Trump Wedding Photos: What Most People Get Wrong
In November 2021—just weeks before his daughter with Grimes was born—Shivon gave birth to twins. Their names were kept under wraps for a long time until they were revealed as Strider Sekhar Sirius Musk and Azure Astra Alice Musk.
Elon recently gave some context on these names on X (formerly Twitter). He said Strider is a nod to Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings, while Sekhar honors the Nobel-winning astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Azure was apparently inspired by "Comet Azur," a powerful spell in the game Elden Ring.
But they didn't stop there.
- Arcadia Musk: A daughter born in February 2024.
- Seldon Lycurgus Musk: A son born in late 2024 (revealed in early 2025).
"Seldon" is almost certainly a reference to Hari Seldon, the protagonist of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series who uses math to predict the future. Very on-brand for Elon.
The Latest Addition: Romulus
Just when you thought the list was settled, 2025 brought another name into the mix. Influencer and author Ashley St. Clair revealed she had a child with Elon named Romulus Musk, born in September 2024.
✨ Don't miss: Erika Kirk Married Before: What Really Happened With the Rumors
The name Romulus, for those who skipped history class, refers to the legendary founder of Rome. It fits the pattern: grand, historical, and slightly ominous.
Summary of the 14 Musk Children
To keep it straight, here’s the chronological breakdown of the names of Elon Musk's children as we know them today:
- Nevada Alexander (2002)
- Griffin and Vivian (2004)
- Kai, Saxon, and Damian (2006)
- X Æ A-Xii (2020)
- Strider Sekhar and Azure Astra (2021)
- Exa Dark Sideræl (2021)
- Techno Mechanicus (2022)
- Arcadia (2024)
- Romulus (2024)
- Seldon Lycurgus (2024/2025)
Why the Names Matter
A lot of people think these names are just a billionaire being eccentric for the sake of it. Maybe. But if you look closer, there is a clear philosophy at play. Elon is obsessed with the future of consciousness, space travel, and the survival of the human race.
Naming a kid after an exaFLOP or a Spartan lawgiver (Lycurgus) isn't just about being "unique." It’s about embedding a specific set of values—science, history, and mythology—into their identity from day one.
Whether these kids grow up to love their names or spend a fortune on legal fees to change them is a different story. For now, the "Musk-eteers" represent one of the most unconventional families in modern history.
If you’re trying to keep up with this in real-time, your best bet is to follow the mothers on X. Shivon Zilis and Grimes are often the ones who drop the actual details, while Elon usually just confirms things with a "heart" emoji months later.
Watch for references to Isaac Asimov, Tolkien, or high-end GPU architecture—that’s usually where the next name is coming from. Keep an eye on the legal filings in Texas too, as that's often where the first "official" confirmation of these names actually appears before they hit the headlines.