Why Kim Kardashian Changed Her Name 18 Years Ago

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.”