Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis have welcomed their fourth child together, and the name they’ve chosen—Seldon Lycurgus—seems to foreshadow a stark, militaristic vision of governance.
Zilis announced the birth on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, sharing the news in honor of their daughter Arcadia’s birthday.
“In light of beautiful Arcadia’s birthday, we felt it was better to also just share directly about our wonderful and incredible son Seldon Lycurgus,” she wrote. “Built like a juggernaut, with a solid heart of gold. Love him so much.” Musk appeared to confirm the announcement with a heart emoji.
The name Seldon appears to reference Hari Seldon, the mathematician and visionary from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. In the books, Seldon’s groundbreaking work in “psychohistory” allows him to predict and manipulate the future of civilization—an eerie parallel to Musk’s own aspirations of shaping humanity’s trajectory.
Lycurgus, on the other hand, evokes a more ominous historical precedent, reported the Daily Beast. The legendary Greek lawmaker of the same name is credited with engineering Sparta’s famously brutal military society, instilling a lifestyle of extreme discipline, endurance, and social engineering. His policies emphasized rigid governance, state-mandated procreation, and a philosophy that has been linked to early eugenics ideals.
“He believed motherhood to be the most important function of freeborn women,” Greek historian Xenophon wrote in Constitution of the Lacedaemonians, describing Lycurgus’ vision of state-controlled breeding. His laws also mandated rigorous physical training for women, believing that stronger parents would produce superior offspring.
Lycurgus’ name has been invoked throughout history in discussions on authoritarian governance and social control—most controversially in Nazi propaganda, which idealized his Spartan reforms as a model for eugenics and militaristic discipline. While some historians debate whether Lycurgus was a real figure or a mythical construct, his impact on political philosophy is undeniable.
The name choice is particularly striking given Musk’s role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has launched an aggressive campaign against government “waste.” His and his mother Maye Musk’s vocal advocacy for increased birth rates—even as economic conditions make child-rearing difficult—aligns with Lycurgus’ belief that procreation should be a national duty.
While Musk has always had a penchant for unconventional baby names, Seldon Lycurgus may be his most revealing one yet—a name that not only nods to grand visions of the future but also whispers of a past steeped in rigid control and engineered society.