'We got beat': Gwyneth Paltrow admits defeat to Elon Musk for controversial baby name

'#Chrismartin I think we got beat for most controversial baby name,' the Goop founder joked on Instagram

Elon Musk and partner Grimes changed their son's name to comply with California state law. AFP

When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin introduced their daughter, Apple, to the world in 2004, their choice of name sparked a fair amount of ridicule.

But Paltrow has acknowledged that they have now been "beat" in the controversial baby name stakes by Elon Musk and partner Grimes, who announced this week that their new son is called X Æ A-12.

The Goop founder commented on a post on InStyle magazine's Instagram account, saying: "#Chrismartin I think we got beat for most controversial baby name."

Paltrow explained the reasoning behind her daughter’s name in an interview with Oprah in 2004. "When we were first pregnant, her daddy said: 'If it's a girl I think her name should be Apple.' It sounded so sweet, and it conjured such a lovely picture for me, you know. Apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's biblical.”

Meanwhile, Musk has credited partner Grimes, real name Claire Elise Boucher, with the couple’s choice of baby name, and has been busy trying to explain how to translate it on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “It's just the letter X and then the Æ is pronounced 'Ash'. A-12 is my contribution…. Coolest plane ever. It's pretty great.”

Grimes, meanwhile, took to Twitter to explain the thinking behind the name, although she herself seems confused by its origins, as Musk had to correct her on one point. “A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favourite aircraft),” she wrote. To which Musk promptly commented: “SR-71, but yes”.

There is also some speculation about whether the name will be legally accepted in California, where birth certificates only allow the 26 letters of the English alphabet.

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