Kim Kardashian & Kanye West named their third child Chicago West

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West out for dinner at Craig's restaurant

I hate Kim Kardashian a little bit for ruining my TGIF celebrations. But here you go: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their third child Chicago West. That’s a name that didn’t appear on any of our prediction lists. I had actually convinced myself that Baby West #3’s name was going to be Love West or Elle West or True West. Kim made such a big deal about how they wanted a one-syllable name to “match” one-syllable names North and Saint.

As everyone is pointing out, Kanye was raised in Chicago and he is strongly identified with Chi-town. When you say “Chi-town” outloud, the name actually seems less bizarre – much like they call North “Nori,” I suspect Chicago West will go by Chi West (pronounced Shy West). Which I actually do not hate. Also: This could even be some kind of meta cross-promotion for Lena Waithe’s new TV show The Chi??

Anyway… love it or hate it, the Kardashian-Wests come up with some unusual names. West is such a great surname too, it makes anything sound cool, so maybe Chicago West will be the most righteous little girl on the playground.

Kim Kardashian helps son Saint ice skate as she hits the rink with daughter North

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.

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162 Responses to “Kim Kardashian & Kanye West named their third child Chicago West”

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  1. Babs says:

    Love it. Welcome, Chicago West!

  2. Sunshine mama says:

    It beats Schenectady?

  3. Nancy says:

    She thinks she’s so profound, she isn’t. Chicago is the name of a city, North is a direction, Saint is a saint. What’s funny is if she named her child Mary or Lilly, that would have drawn attention. Chicago is expected and ridiculous.

    • fruitloops says:

      At least Chicago IS a name.
      North is the saddest name I’ve ever heard, like they didn’t even want to name her so they chose a random word (despite the direction name/surname thing), and Saint is unjustifiably pretentious.

      • Nancy says:

        Yeah, it’s a name of a city, not a human being. North is awful, she was named for a compass. I don’t get it. She is an attention whore, as he is, but why take it out on the children. My kind of town Chicago is………..this poor kid is going to goofed on relentlessly, it’s not cool in any form. Ugh

      • Kelly says:

        I feel like Kim has little input in the naming of her children. The hoops she jumped through trying to explain how North was a superior name to South because it was the better direction was hilarious. Kanye picked it and she went along.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        What makes North so sad to me is that it doesn’t stand on its own, the last name is what makes it. I just seems like they set her up to be dependent on the family instead of being her own person. I totally agree about Saint being pretentious.

    • Katie says:

      I don’t have an issue with Chicago. Lots of place names have become common (or at least not UNcommon) names eg Brooklyn (thanks to the Beckhams), Florence (thanks to the nurse), Dakota (thanks to Melanie and Don), Ireland (Kim and Alec), Paris (the Hiltons, Michael Jackson), Georgia (the Jaggers)… I see no reason why anyone would make fun of this name.

      • Jayna says:

        Because Chicago doesn’t work as an appealing female name IMO. Just because some place names have been used and some work doesn’t mean every city or state is an appealing name . Georgia is a pretty name and has been used through generations as a first name. Paris is a great name, but I wouldn’t want it for my child.

        I’m not making fun of them for choosing a place name. I hate that name for a little girl or adult woman. Chicago sounds dumb to me as a name. But many names that celebs name their kids are ugh-inducing to me. This is one of them. But it’s their kid. They can name her what they want.

        I don’t even mind North.

      • Arpeggi says:

        Paris is an actual name! People tend to forget, but way before being a city, Paris was a Greek male name. Paris kidnapped Helen of Troy and caused a war, another Paris was supposed to marry Romeo’s Juliette… Of course, the Hiltons don’t know or care about that, but it’s been around way before the city was built. Georgia and Florence are also fairly common

      • HH says:

        Dakota was the name of a collection of tribes before it was the name of a state. As Arpeggi has already said, Paris existed as a person’s name before it was a city. Also, some names simply sound better for a person. I said this below, but another example is flowers. Lily, Rose, and Daisy work well. Not the same for Tulip and Marigold.

      • Lightpurple says:

        Chicago, hog butcher for the world, tool maker, stacker of wheat. Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler.
        Stormy, husky, brawling.
        City of big shoulders.

        Sure. Perfect for a baby girl!

      • Dave says:

        Paris is actually a very ancient Greek name ling before France existed.

      • Lorelai says:

        ITA with everything you said, Jayna! Lots of “place” names work, but this is nooooot one of them.

    • Heather says:

      I actually like the nickname Chi though.

    • halliego says:

      what is the issue with kim and kanye here? beyonce named her children, rumi, blue, and SIR, and nobody here had a problem with it. she. named. her. baby. sir.

      • Lorelai says:

        For the record, I think Beyoncé’s kids’ names are just as ridiculous 🤷🏻‍♀️

        Especially “Sir.”

      • jwoolman says:

        I recall people having a lot of problems with Beyoncé’s choices.

        Parents need to ask themselves, “How will this name work for a President of the United States?” before getting too creative.

    • broodytrudy says:

      I love Saint in all its pretentious glory. I think it’s the best name they came up with. North is surprisingly crisp when paired with their last name, but would fall flat with other surnames.
      Chicago is clunky, with too many hard sounds. It’s not great.
      But these are Kim and Kanye’s kids. It’s not like they’ll ever have normal jobs or live normal lives. I’m not worried about them with those names at all.
      And hell, a lot of non famous folks name their kids “Queen” and “Princess” and “Majesty”. We should be more worried about how they’ll so in life compared to the uber rich Kardashian babies.

    • jwoolman says:

      Well, in lists using last name first the kid will be West Chicago…

    • jwoolman says:

      She names her kids like a very young teenage mother often does, as though the kid is a pet or a doll. But when I saw her talking with Nori in a clip of the show, she really did strike me as interacting like a 13 year old babysitter rather than as a mature mother. I’ve felt the same in some videos of her out and about with Nori. I think she’s been slowly improving as far as spending real time with the kids is concerned and she’s not pushing them in front of pap cameras as much as before, though. But the kids are lucky to have nannies and aunts who seem more together about kids. I wonder if Kim is going to be able to handle them once they are no longer very young children.

  4. Frosty says:

    The nickname’s growing on me. Also, props to Kim’s upper arm strength.

  5. Tough Cookie says:

    They can use the last syllable as a nickname…..’Go West

  6. HH says:

    UGH. Why do that to your child? I like Chi West. It makes way more sense than Chicago.

    • Lady D says:

      I know of women named Brooklyn, Dakota and Paris. How is Chicago any different?

      • HH says:

        Dakota was the name of tribes before it was a state. Paris was the name of a Greek prince before it was the name of a city.

        Also, some names simply work better as crossovers. Another example is flowers. Lily, Rose, and Daisy work well. Tulip and Marigold? Not so much.

      • Lucy2 says:

        They at least have a nice sound to them, Chicago does not, IMO.

      • Amy says:

        HH, Edith crawley (downton abbey) named her daughter marigold. I thought it worked rather well. Or maybe it’s just grown on me from watching the show. But I agree about certain flowers/place names not working. I wouldn’t name a child Queens, Colorado, Duluth, or Chicago. Nor Buttercup, poinsettia, pelagonium, or geranium.

      • Kloops says:

        They’re all equally as bad as Chicago imo. There are some place names that I like (eg Georgia) but it’s the exception not the rule. Whatever. This is the type of attention seeking behavior the Kardashians seem to enjoy. I’d be disappointed if they chose something prosaic.

  7. susiecue says:

    I don’t like it, but maybe she’ll go by Chic? Chic West? I don’t hate that.

  8. Michelle says:

    And here I was thinking they were going to name her after Kanye’s mother. Silly me….

    • jwoolman says:

      Sometimes people don’t want a constant reminder of their loss. Kanye may.be like that. There’s no doubt that he loved and respected his mother very much, but in many ways he is still in mourning.

  9. Sarah says:

    Oh, good Lord! 🙄
    I like Calabasas better!

  10. velourazure says:

    Chichi West.

  11. LW says:

    Don’t kill me, I actually don’t hate it. I think she tweeted she’s going by Chi (shy).

    • Plantpal says:

      which I don’t get…it’s pronounced Chi like if…. chi -cago? so why would the chi nickname be pronounced shy? Please help me understand….

      • Pinetree13 says:

        I don’t get it either ….there’s hair products called chi pronounced “cheee”

        I don’t get how chi is shy? Whaaaa????

      • Gia says:

        Chicago is pronounced shhicago hence shy (chi) not sure where the eye sound came for pronouncing it shy we’ve just always say it that way. Although my friends/peeps usually say shytown when referring to it in slang terms which isn’t very often.

      • J.F. says:

        @Plantpal — because “Chi-town,” Chicago-the-city’s nickname among locals, is pronounced “shy-town,” not “Chai-town” or “Tchih-town”

      • thaliasghost says:

        The Chi in Chicago is pronounced ‘shi’.

  12. minx says:

    I’m in Chicago. Can’t say I’ve heard a native call it Chi-Town, but whatever.

    • Senaber says:

      Similar: Hotlanta. Perhaps they will go for a fourth? Hotlanta West.

    • Kelly says:

      I’m a native and the first time I heard that term was from Jamie Foxx during Obama’s first run. I immediately figured it out, but can’t recall ever hearing it.

      • KiddV says:

        The first time I heard Chi-town was in the late 70’s, Boz Scaggs “Lido Shuffle”. Took this small town South-West girl forever to figure out what he meant. Still a Boz Scaggs fan.

    • drea says:

      oh thank god. no one born here ever calls it chi-town. And they better pronounce it “chi-caaaaa-go”! 🙂

      • DTrain says:

        Chicago native here, maybe it is a generation thing? Everyone I know calls it “The Chi” and no one over pronounces the a that hard🤣

      • drea says:

        maybe, I am 44! Or the pronunciation is an Italian thing! 🙂

    • Gia says:

      I’m a Chicago native. My friends and I refer to it as Chicago but when we rarely slang it up we say Chi town never just Chi.

    • diane says:

      I’m from Chicago. Chi is used in the mostly in south side slang. Kanye uses it in his song Southside. I love the name.

  13. Moneypenny424 says:

    Chicago is Kanye’s hometown, so at least it has some relevance to them?? *That was the nicest thing I could come up with*

  14. Sam the pink says:

    I am usually the person to defend names that are a little outside the norm, since I have a son with a very old name that is rarely heard in modern times, but JEEZ. Do they think they’re being super profound or witty or something? Because they’re not. And the kid is the one who will have to live with it!

    I swear, in 20 years, we’re gonna have a rush on the courthouse of young adults seeking name changes if this trend keeps up.

    • jwoolman says:

      What I find surprising is that in each case, they seemed to be very undecided by the time of the birth, even though they even knew the gender. Saint seemed to be spur of the moment even. Is that common among parents?

    • Amy says:

      Samthepink, I’m actually starting to like a lot of “old” names. Things that I would never have considered naming my child 20 years ago because they sounded like grandma/grandpa names, I’m kind of coming around to now. The older names are starting to sound fresh again. I like Edith, Mary, Hester, Esther, and Rose now. And I like Albert, George, Theodore, Fredrick, Vincent, and maybe even Gus—though I think it would be cuter for a baby/child than for a man. I even rather like, for a boy, the old boy names that have become girl names recently: Ashley, Whitney, Sydney, and Frances are all names I’d be okay with seeing for a boy again. There are some that don’t quite translate into cool again for me, though, yet: Edna, Maude, Iris, Silas, Cyril, and Donald.

  15. Susannah says:

    Oh well, I had Wild or Wyld as the guess, so I lose the bet with my Kardashian obsessed assistant.

  16. Barrymore says:

    Worst list of names.

    St North Chicago

  17. KiddV says:

    I don’t hate it.

    I love ‘Go West. LOL I was thinking Chica West.

  18. Paris says:

    Really? Chicago?

    Look in Wikipedia – The name “Chicago” is derived from a French rendering of the Miami-Illinois word Shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum (is a North American species of wild onion).

    Wild onion? You called your child “Wild Onion”?

    • eto says:

      Okay, Paris.

    • Gia says:

      Not only is it a wild onion but it heavily smells like garlic. The plant itself is just ramps. Used a lot in cooking. And to top it off whether this is correct or not but as a kid in school in Chicago we were taught the name means “smelly onion” so let’s hope Chi West doesn’t go to school there 😛

  19. Lucy says:

    Don’t hate it. I’m sure she’s totally adorable.

  20. Kata says:

    Chicago West sounds like a motorway exit.

  21. Danielle says:

    I don’t hate it.

  22. Backwards says:

    When you realise Kanye named his kids – North West, Saint West, and Chicago West …..

    Because Kanye thinks of himself as a North Chicago Saint

    Lol!

    • me says:

      Ha ha ! Good one !

    • Alexandria says:

      All these compass directions, places and throwing a Saint in there makes me think Kanye is trying to write a Dan Brown novel. Yeezus indeed. Or maybe it’s a treasure map.

  23. happy girl says:

    I like it. And I agree that West is a great surname, so it makes all the names cool.

    North, Saint, and Chi will never in their lives attend school or live in a common way, in an average place, so the chance of being made-fun-of (for their names) is slim to none.

    • me says:

      Hey never say never. If their parents go bankrupt or somehow blow through all their money, these kids WILL have to live “normal” lives and get REAL jobs.

      • jwoolman says:

        If the kids don’t like their names, they’ll start calling themselves something else. They may not even need to go through a formal name change – I never did, and was told by the courthouse in my birth state that as long as I consistently used this version of my name, it was my legal name. My parents never called me by the name on the birth certificate so when I was old enough to fill out forms on my own, I just used the real name they called me and it’s been that way for many decades.

        Caused a lot of confusion in school, though, with teachers who insisted on sticking to the not-my-name version because that’s how it was on class lists. Clearly showed who paid attention and who didn’t.

  24. Aang says:

    I kind of like it.

  25. tracking says:

    Dumb.

  26. Alice says:

    I think its a super cool name but that’s me

  27. Nev says:

    I like it, it’s scrappy.

    • Jayna says:

      Scrappy as in she won’t melt down if she chips a nail or doesn’t fall apart if she’s forced to wear a non-label outfit or can survive if she doesn’t get booked first class on a flight? That would be scrappy in the Kardashian world. LOL

  28. Becki says:

    I grew up in a suburb of Chicago called West Chicago, so the name seems backwards to me! LOL But I figured they would call her Chi. That part is cute at least. I have friends who transplanted from Chicago to Alaska & named their son Chicago, so to me, Chicago it a boys’ name. It’s not my fave, but once we put a face with the name, I’m sure it will grow on us.

  29. Christina S. says:

    Still better than Sir

  30. Littlestar says:

    Chicago comes from a Native American word; it isn’t “just” a place word without further meaning or history. But I honestly doubt the Wests thought that far into it beyond their own meaning of it, just a viewpoint from me. Also people talking about Dakota as a “place” name are neglecting that a) there’s the Dakota people and b) that it means ally or friend. Still weird that non-Native American people are so fond of using it, kinda of like the use of the name Cheyenne for people. A lot of places here in the US are native words, like Miami, Connecticut, Mississippi, Massachusetts, etc. Guess who lived here first and had names for places 😉

  31. Ruyana says:

    Sorry, but that’s awful. They name their children as if they were naming a dog. Those kids are going to have to live with those names all their lives unless they go to court as adults and change them.

  32. Nikki says:

    I’m so glad to read people liking it. Because I’d hate for the entire world to DISLIKE IT as much as I do.

  33. Lori says:

    I like Chicago and North. Chi and Nori.

    Saint is just.. Its kinda descriptive. What if it becomes ironic? I prefer names that doesnt try to describe the child.

  34. Mar says:

    I don’t like it for a girl. Brooklyn is cute but Chicago just doesn’t seem like a girls name. They will call her Chica? Yeah I know it’s symbolic for Kanye or whatever but she’s going to hate her name growing up.

  35. Jag says:

    I don’t like it at all. It’s too masculine for a girl’s name. I don’t like the names North or Saint, either. Nori, though, I would have liked.

    It is a pet peeve of mine when people make nicknames out of short names. If the name is one syllable, why is the nickname two? It doesn’t make sense.

    And if they are only going to call her Chi, then name her that for Pete’s sake.

    • Mela says:

      Chicago is a horrible name imo. So obvious Kanye names his kids these stupid names. I didnt think you could come up with a dumber name than Saint but Chicago wins that competition.

      Chi like Chai tea?

      Better than chicago…should have just named her Chi if that is what everyone is going to call her. I understand having a predesignated nickname if it is a family name carried down generations ie (you are named Robert after your father and everyone calls him Bob and you as well since you were named after him).

      I thought apple was the dumbest name ever but chicago wins

  36. winterforever says:

    LOLOLOLOLOLO!!!! I can’t!

  37. Ange says:

    There’s a male character from pitch perfect 3 who is called Chicago. I saw the movie last night and said then ‘that’s a really stupid name,’ got out of the movie and saw this news. Timing could not have been more perfect.

  38. Alexandria says:

    Uhh. All I have to say is at least this generation of celeb kids with fancy names have each other and can have a good support group from childhood to adulthood.

  39. HeyThere! says:

    As someone who lives in Illinois this makes me laugh out loud! Horrible name.

  40. ScotiaGirl says:

    What a sin!!

  41. LittlefishMom says:

    Well Chi is cute. No hate.

  42. Riley says:

    Chicago is my hometown so it makes me want to gag!

  43. Blonde555 says:

    Horrible name, worst choice in the world.

  44. greenmonster says:

    Fingers crossed her second name is Hope!

  45. Other Renee says:

    My bro had a Japanese gf whose name was Chikako. Sounds so similar. I don’t hate Chicago since it has meaning to Kanye. Do any of their kids have middle names?

  46. spidee!! says:

    People who call their children by stupid names should be charged with child abuse!

  47. spidee!! says:

    A few names for their future kids with love from England:

    Piddletrenthide
    Whitchurch Conanicorum
    Pratts Bottom
    Ramsbottom
    llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysili
    ogogogoch

    That last one is Welsh btw

    I jest not!

  48. Pinar says:

    It sounds like a hospital name for me (mercy west – greys anatomy)
    Chichi sounds sweet tho

    • Nancy says:

      I had a Chihuahua named Chi Chi. That appears to be what they do, give pet names to their kids. I’m guessing Khloe will do the same thing. At least Kourtney gave two of her children “real” names, but then came Reign.

  49. Sassypants says:

    I’m sorry but I hate it. Naming your daughter Chicago is bad but coupled with West makes it even worse. A city and a direction for a name ugh…does she have a middle name??? I was really warming up to Luxe West or ecen True but Chicago?!!!

    Ugh- Every time I think about the name Chicago I think of the guy from Poetic Justice who brushed his hair all the time and thought he was the best thing since sliced bread.

  50. anna222 says:

    When they alluded to a Louis Vuitton connection I thought for sure it was going to be Purse West.

  51. KBeth says:

    The kids are really cute despite the terrible names, lol.

  52. Linda says:

    I live in Canada. Someone who worked with my husband has a daughter named Chicago. She is in her thirties now and the name worked out fine for her.

  53. Skoochy says:

    Em… if ANYTHING this name needs to be shortened to ‘Go. Go West.

    I really wish they’d just called the child Go now. Maybe with a pretentious French spelling. Geaux West. Oh my god, I need to trademark that.

  54. a says:

    I’ll bet Chic West, Chi West and ‘Go West are all registered brands by now.

  55. Cara says:

    Personally, I think Chicago is a terrible name. What little girl wants her name to be Chicago?? Her going by, “Chi” isn’t a lot better. Who wants to by known as “Chi”, anyway?
    These two clowns do have beautiful children though, so they will likely be able to pull off their idiotic names.

  56. reverie says:

    I have a feeling all the haters named their own kids something from the shiz show that is Jayden/Brayden/Aiden/Cayden.

    • happy girl says:

      Lol. or Britney/Brianna/Brielle 🙂

    • Erinn says:

      YES. I’d love to see a list of some of their kids names so we can discuss which children are being “abused” by their parents naming choices.

      Chicago is FAR less stupid than all the Nevaeh’s and different spellings of the current trend names and cutesy choices out there. Maybe instead of saying you feel bad because they’ll get mocked (while starting the mocking) just accept that decades ago a lot of your own names didn’t exist at all.

  57. Jackie says:

    Sounds like the name of a subdivision.

  58. Nilo says:

    Chicago means “stinky onion.” Great choice.

  59. Shannon says:

    I feel crazy for saying this, but I kind of love this. WAY better than ‘Love’ which was what my bet was. I also think the kid will probably go by ‘Chi.’ My aunt has lived in Chicago all her adult life and for all the bad press it seems to get, I’ve always found it to be a fun and vibrant city.

  60. Shannon says:

    I’m on the fence with creative naming. I mean, I enjoy it but for us average people it’s not totally practical. I remember when I was pregnant (each time) with boys asking myself, “Would this name look normal on a job application/law school application/business card – etc. Chicago West probably is not going to ever have to worry about that kind of peasanty stuff. She’ll be fine. Nobody will make fun of her because if they do, Kanye will blast them randomly in a concert, Kim will get some receipts, and the whole thing will end up on a “Very Special Episode” of KUWTK

  61. KicktheSticks says:

    I hate the name but it’s obvious it means a lot to Kanye. He’s deeply connected to his hometown.

  62. elimaeby says:

    As a Chicagoan and a Kanye lover, I can’t hate it. Welcome, Chicago West!

  63. Pamela says:

    The name is dumb AF. Just like baby’s parents.