Entertainment

The Baby Names Kim Kardashian Considered Besides Chicago Are Shockingly Ordinary

by Nicole Pomarico

When Kim Kardashian's third child arrived in January, it seemed like a given that the star would give her a unique name, but she almost settled on something way more traditional this time. During her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Kardashian shared the baby names she considered besides Chicago, and they're way different from what fans would have expected from her and Kanye West.

Given that her first two children are named North and Saint, it's not surprising at all that she and West went for another unusual name. Kardashian has always liked to stand out, and knowing how important individualism is to West, it's not like a more common name like Jennifer or Emily was ever in the cards for their third baby. But Chicago's name was almost something that could have been easily found in any baby book.

While she was on the show, DeGeneres pointed out that originally, Kardashian had said that she was looking for a one-syllable name like North and Saint's, but Chicago obviously doesn't fit that requirement. Kardashian admitted that it "kind of messes with" her to not have that common thread connecting her children's names, so it makes sense that the other names she had in mind actually did only have one syllable.

"We were gonna name her Jo, because of my grandma, Mary Jo, or we were gonna go with Grace," Kardashian said. "And then it was Chicago. We ended up with Chicago."

It's kind of hard to imagine Kardashian with a daughter named Jo or Grace — as pretty as both of those names are — because of the kind of names she's chosen in the past. Giving her daughter the name Jo would have been a really sweet tribute to MJ, who obviously means a lot to Kardashian and the rest of her family and has found a place in so many fans' hearts after her appearances on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

We know now that they didn't end up going with either of those names, but there's also another one they considered: Donda, as a way of honoring West's late mother.

"He really wanted his mother's name, and I love that name too, I just wasn't sure — it's so much to live up to," she said.

But in the end, they went with a name that was also meaningful, but in a different way. They named her Chicago, after West's hometown.

"That is a place that made him and a place that he remembers his family from," Kardashian said, later adding, "I just felt like Chicago was cool and different."

And for the record, they call her Chi, which does have only one syllable, and that seems to sit better with Kardashian when it comes to listing out all three of her children. It's a cute nickname, and they managed to tie her name into something important to their family, so it seems like a win on all fronts. Plus, now that her name is Chicago, it's hard to look at her and think of her as a Jo or a Grace or even a Donda — just like it's hard to imagine North or Saint going by any other name, even though plenty of people criticized Kardashian's choosing those names in the beginning.

In the end, it seems like Chicago is the perfect name for this almost four-month-old, even if it wasn't the only name her parents had in mind at first. Now, she and her siblings each have a name that sets them apart — although considering who their mom and dad are, standing out was never going to be an issue in the first place.