Kanye West has officially changed his name
Here’s why he’s made the bold move
Last updated 19th Oct 2021
Rapper and fashion designer Kanye West has officially changed his name to ‘Ye’ after using the nickname for a number of years.
In August, Kanye formally requested to change his full name – Kanye Omari West – to Ye (that is pronounced ‘Yay’) and filed legal documents that cited “personal reasons” for the choice of name change. His application was proved by LA Superior Court judge Michelle Williams.
He had previously revealed plans to change his name when he tweeted in 2018: 'Formally known as Kanye West. I am YE.' He also released an album called Ye in 2018.
In the same year, he told radio host Big Boy: “I believe ‘ye’ is the most commonly used word in the Bible. In the Bible it means you.
"So, I'm you. And I'm us. It's us. It went from being Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye, just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused - everything. It's more of a reflection of who we are as beings."
Check out 33 singers who changed their names for the stage:
Camila Cabello
Real name: Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao
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Bruno Mars
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Rihanna
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P!NK
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Lady Gaga
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Nelly
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Stormzy
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Calvin Harris
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Lil Nas X
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Iggy Azalea
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Ke$ha
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Nicki Minaj
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Katy Perry
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Lana Del Rey
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Macklemore
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Jason Derulo
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Charli XCX
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will.i.am
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Kanye West
In October 2021, Kanye West announced he had legally changed his name to Ye, with the application being approved by LA Superior Court judge Michelle Williams.
John Legend
John Legend's real name is John Roger Stephens. He told us that the name John Legend was a nickname used by some of his friends.
Back in August, he released Donda, his 10th studio album following his split from wife Kim Kardashian, whom he married in 2014.
Despite Kim filing for divorce in February, the rapper did not ask that her name should be changed back to just Kardashian. They have four children who they co parent together: seven-year-old North, five-year-old Saint, three-year-old Chicago, and two-year-old Psalm.
Kim made a controversial choice to keep her married name Kardashian West when she hosted Saturday Night Live in early October.
She also recently reportedly agreed to pay her husband $20 million in cash for their Hidden Hills mansion and paid an extra $3 million for the contents of their former marital home they purchased seven years ago.
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