Kanye West files legal petition to change his name to ‘Ye’; Know what it means

Kanye West, who has gone by the nickname 'Ye' for years, now wants to make it official! According to reports, the rapper wants to officially change his name from Kanye Omari West to Ye and leave out his middle and last name. Here's all we know about Kanye West changing his name - 

Is Kanye West changing his name? What is Kanye West's new name? 

According to several reports, Kanye West wants to legally change his name to Ye. According to Los Angeles Superior Court documents obtained by The Associated Press, the 44-year-old rapper formally filed a petition to change his name from Kanye Omari West to just Ye, with no middle name or last name. A judge is still to approve the petition before West's name change becomes official. 

According to USA Today, Kanye cited "personal reasons" for the name change. Furthermore, the rapper is yet to comment on the recent news. However, this isn't the first time that Kanye West has expressed his desire to change his name. In 2018, the rapper had sent out a tweet talking about how he doesn't want to be known as Kanye West anymore but would like to go by his nickname, Ye. 

Kanye West's new name - What does 'Ye' mean? 

Kanye West's new name, or rather a long-standing nickname, Ye, is an abbreviation of his first name. The rapper and singer's nickname dates back to his 2012 single Clique featuring Jay-Z and Big Sean, in which he rapped, "Yeah, I'm talking Ye.". Several fans assumed that Kanye's preferred nickname Ye was an alter ego, like Beyonce's Sasha Fierce or Eminem's Slim Shady. However, the rapper cleared up the misconceptions saying Ye was Kanye without an ego.

While the eccentric rapper has often expressed his desire to change his name, the rapper has also admitted that the name holds religious significance. Kanye West had also titled his eighth studio album 'Ye,' which was released in 2018. In interview with Big Boy in June 2018, Kanye had said, 

I believe 'ye' is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible it means 'you.' So I'm you, I'm us, it's us. It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye – just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything. The album is more of a reflection of who we are.

Kanye's Instagram and Twitter account also show his name as Ye, although his official handle remains @Kanyewest on both platforms. 

IMAGE - AP