Kim Kardashian Reveals She Changed Her Name Right Before the Family Became Reality-TV Stars

Kim Kardashian says she made a last-minute decision that ended up defining her public persona. In a new interview with TIME, the star revealed that she went by “Kimberly” for most of her youth — right up until the moment her family signed on for Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

“I was always Kimberly. But when I saw ‘Kimberly Kardashian’ on the screen, I thought, ‘That’s too long, no one’s going to want to say that,’” the 45-year-old explained. “So I said, ‘Let’s just do Kim.’” She added that her close friends and family still call her by her full name.

Kardashian also said she was the driving force behind what would become a television phenomenon. She recalled falling in love with the idea of reality TV at age 11 after watching MTV’s The Real World, and even told a friend they should submit a casting tape when they turned 18.

Years later, that childhood dream materialized on a much bigger scale. Kim says she convinced her sisters — Kourtney and Khloé — and their mother Kris Jenner to join the project, pitching it as a powerful promotional tool for their then-new boutique Dash.

“I told them it would be amazing promo for the store. Once they heard that, they were in,” she admitted.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians ran on E! for 14 years, until 2021. Today, the family continues its reality-TV legacy on streaming: all of them star in The Kardashians on Hulu.