Kanye West files to legally change his name to Ye over 'personal reasons'

Kanye West has gone by Ye for years, but now he wants to make it official.   

The eccentric rapper, 44, formally filed a petition to change his name from his moniker Kanye Omari West to just Ye, with no middle name or last name, according to Los Angeles Superior Court documents obtained by The Associated Press.

West cited ​"personal reasons" for the change. The docs were dated Aug. 11 but not sent into the court system until Tuesday. A judge must approve before the petition before it becomes official. 

 USA TODAY reached out to West's reps for further comment. 

This is not the first time West has tried to drop his full name. In 2018, the rapper announced on Twitter that he's no longer "the being formally known as Kanye West… I am YE."

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Ye, an abbreviation of his first name, is West's longstanding nickname dating back to his 2012 hit single "Clique" featuring Jay-Z and Big Sean ("Yeah, I'm talking Ye"). Some may refer to Ye as an alter ego, but West explained on Twitter in 2018: "Who or what is Kanye West with no ego? Just Ye."

The nickname also has a religious significance to him. West titled his eighth studio album "Ye," which was released in 2018.

"I believe 'ye' is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible it means 'you,'" West said during an interview with Big Boy in June 2018.

He continued: "So I'm you, I'm us, it's us. It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to just Ye – just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything. The album is more of a reflection of who we are."

West's Instagram and Twitter account currently show his name as Ye, although his official handle remains @Kanyewest on both platforms.

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The rapper shares his surname with his four children – North West, 8, Saint West, 5, Chicago West, 3, and Psalm West, 2 – with ex Kim Kardashian West, who didn't change her last name back to just Kardashian when she filed for divorce in February.

West named his highly anticipated tenth studio album "Donda" after his beloved late mother Donda West, who died in 2007 at age 58 following complications from cosmetic surgery.

Contributing: The Associated Press