In the emoji-filled tweet heard 'round the world, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West finally announced on Monday that their newborn son's name is Saint West. When Kardashian revealed she was pregnant with her second child, many speculated that she and Kanye would use another direction name to complement their daughter North's compass-inspired name. Jokes were made about Southwest Airlines. Twitter placed bets on Easton. But while everyone was arguing over the direction ( ba-dum tish) Kimye would go in when naming their son, I was getting the full scoop on all the names Kim and Kanye were considering. The eight names that made their short list include a few no one would have seen coming, but they all share one thing in common: they all effortlessly lend themselves to the perfect emoji birth announcement.
1. Best West
"Best" was a Kanye favorite early on. Coming from the man who once said, "I think I do myself a disservice by comparing myself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and human beings that we've seen before. It should be more like Willy Wonka... and welcome to my chocolate factory," Ye has no doubts that his son will be every bit the impressive human specimen that his father is. Sadly, Kim shot this name down after learning asking a nurse's opinion about the name. The RN responded that she liked it, saying, "It would make me smile every time I hear it, because last year I got a great Groupon for a two night stay at the Best Western in Chattanooga, and it was a really nice trip."
2. Bless West
With a similar religious vibe as Saint, Bless was one of Kim's favorite options. Originally, she preferred #Blessed, but Kanye was averse to "blessed" because it's past tense, and his child will quote, "honor the world with his presence in the past, present, future, to infinity and beyond." He felt that "Bmore" was more fitting, but didn't want to evoke Charm City.
3. Omnipotent West
Kanye came across this name after Googling "synonyms for all powerful." Kourtney Kardashian was an early supporter of Omnipotent, going as far as suggesting the perfect moniker for little Omnipotent: Om. Unfortunately, Saint won out, so we'll just have to wait for another celebrity to use this one.
4. Pontiff West
Pontiff was perhaps the holiest option that was seriously considered for Kimye's second born. It's rumored that Kim even called upon Donatella Versace to have a baby mitre made for little Pontiff to wear home from the hospital. Even though everyone in the family agreed a baby named Pontiff West was sure to drop the hottest mixtape of all time in 2032, Saint ultimately won out.
5. Emoji West
With an exotic sound that rolls right off the tongue, Kim and mom Kris Jenner were early fans of Emoji. Trending, unique, and commercial: it truly embodied the thing Kimye wished for their little son. Kim thought it was a thoughtful choice, reportedly saying, "Think of all the cultures he would bring together. It would be a constant reminder he can be anything he wants, except bacon."
Kanye ultimately shot it down because it contained the word "emo."
6. Czar West
Kim thought this is how Caesar was spelled, as in Julius Czar. When Kanye told her the truth, they decided to pursue other name options that didn't remind Kim of an embarrassing discovery.
7. Profit West
Throughout Kim's pregnancy, she and Kanye discussed this name. Should it be spelled Profit or Prophet? Both were obviously true, but which had the most impact? Kim preferred Profit, but Kanye liked Prophet better. Neither one was willing to compromise, and the search went on.
8. Voldemort West
Since finishing the Harry Potter series, Kanye's been enamored with the idea of giving a name that could be an anagram for another name. Even though he thought it might be too similar to Macklemore, Kanye thought Voldemort had the right balance of French flare and sinister undertones, two of his most favorite things. Sadly, when he realized using "Tom Marvolo Riddle" as an alias would require naming his son "I Am Lord Voldemort," he opted for something a bit shorter instead, letting the fury of losing his first choice name lay dormant until the next awards show...
Welcome to the world baby Saint. Editor's note: When typing the last sentence, I typoed "Stain," and now I'm wondering if anyone told Kim and Kanye that the same letters used to spell "Saint" also spell "Stain." Image via Twitter/Kim Kardashian West
Katie Hoffman is a writer living in the suburbs of Chicago. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @bykatiehoffman.
