See Why Kim Kardashian Changed Her Name 18 Years Ago

See Why Kim Kardashian Changed Her Name 18 Years Ago

Kim Kardashian explained why she shortened her name ahead of the 2007 launch of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and when she knew she should change the name of her SKIMS shapewear brand.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose Kim Kardashian, by any other name would smell as sweet.

However, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star had different thoughts right before her family’s eponymous TV show launched in October 2007 and decided to change her name for one major reason.

“I used to always go by Kimberly, until we signed on to do the reality show,” Kim told Time in an article published Dec. 4. “And when I looked at my chyron, Kimberly Kardashian, I said, ‘I think that's so long for people to say.’ And like, ‘Let's just shorten it to Kim.’”

But while the 45-year-old is now known internationally by her shortened moniker, it still strikes her as strange.

“It's so weird,” she continued, “because all my friends from high school and growing up, and my dad, everyone calls me Kimberly.”

That’s not to say Kim hasn’t made use of her shorter name, though. In fact, she celebrated the holiday season with her SKIMS shapewear brand whose name references her own nickname with a Dec. 4 livestream alongside Snoop Dogg and her mom Kris Jenner, an event they called “Kimsmas.” 

Before the $5 billion shapewear brand was named SKIMS, though, Kim mom to kids North West, 12, Saint West, 10, Chicago West, 7, and Psalm West, 6, with ex Kanye West had originally gone with a different pun, naming the company Kimono. But after the Japanese government and other critics called her out, she pivoted, marking another name change she saw as a positive. 

“You can really feel the noise,” she shared about knowing when is the right time to listen to critics. “You can hear when it is so loud. For Kimono, I thought, I have such respect for that culture, and I wouldn't want someone to think that I was misusing or appropriating it, so let's change it.”

Of course, Kim isn’t the only star who is known publicly by a different name including mom Kris Jenner, who was born Kristen Houghton. Read on to learn other celebs who originally were known by other monikers.