Kim Kardashian Shares Why She Changed Her Name 18 Years Ago: 'So Strange'

Kim Kardashian recently shared insights into her early career and the reason she decided to shorten her name for television. The reality star opened up while discussing her new MasterClass, The New Rules of Business: The Ten Kimmandments with Kim Kardashian, highlighting a little-known fact about her life before fame.

Before the debut of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim went by her full name, Kimberly Kardashian. Speaking with Time Magazine, the 45-year-old entrepreneur explained that when the familys first E! reality series premiered in 2007, she was primarily known as Kimberly.

I used to always go by Kimberly until we signed on to do the reality show, she said. And when I saw the chyron, Kimberly Kardashian, I thought, Thats too long for people to say. So I decided to shorten it to Kim. She added that this change felt unusual since everyone close to herfriends from high school and her fathercontinued calling her Kimberly.

The original reality series ran for 14 years, spanning 20 seasons. In 2022, the Kardashian family returned to television with their Hulu show The Kardashians, which is currently in its seventh season.

Kim also reflected on her childhood ambition to star in a reality show. Ive wanted to do a reality show since the day MTVs The Real World came out, she recalled. She and her best friend even planned to submit a tape to MTV at age 18, leveraging her fathers connections in music management.

Ironically, the Kardashian family would later launch their own series with the same producers behind The Real World, Bunim/Murray, alongside Ryan Seacrest. New episodes of The Kardashians air on Hulu every Thursday.

Author: Harper Simmons