Commentary on the name: Saint West arrives

In many countries it’s illegal to name your newborn “Facebook”. So, it seems that to prevent stupidity, often federal governments have to get involved and create laws against it. Not long ago, parents in Sweden lobbied for the right to name their child “Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116” (that’s an ironclad password though, no?) New Zealand has officially banned the name “Sex Fruit” from being used on a birth certificate. In China, “@” was deemed an inappropriate name for a child.

It’s the reason there are ridiculous directions and warnings on labels, like “Do Not Ingest” on rat poisoning. Or, “Caution: Hot” on your take-out coffee cup. Because you simply cannot assume that one person has the same interpretation of common sense as the next.

Why would someone eat rat poisoning? Because they can. Why would someone name their child “Sex Fruit”? Same reason.

In short, it’s impossible to enact a law generic or catch-all enough to cover idiocy, audacity or ego.

Kim and Kanye, the world’s most self proclaimed famous couple, named their firstborn North West. A name that induced hernia-related injuries worldwide due to excessive eye rolling. It’s droll wordplay at best. I once met a kid named Harley Davidson. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Yesterday, Kim and Kanye welcomed their second child with the given name Saint West. Because they can. Because the ego bill hasn’t yet been passed. Because a rose by any other name…

I wasn’t expecting Michael, Jack, or Tim. In many ways, this name is less shocking than choosing something so remarkably plebian. If someone had asked me to predict the name choice weeks ago, I would’ve hmm-ed and haw-ed, and said the name of a Greek god, or even closer to current American mythology, like “Obama”. I chuckled about the possibility that Kanye would unwittingly pick King West–putting “The Six” on the map for something else other than Drake. But after careful reflection, I know now that I was unquestionably off-base. Shame on me.  Why would Kanye stop at mere mortal? Why would “Yeezus” choose a name that already has a story written? This is unmistakably on brand for KimYe. Obnoxious. Brazen. Absurd. Kitschy. Bourgeois.

I’ve stopped puzzling over my opinion of this name. So should you. Think about who the parental discretion is coming from; these are two incredibly successful delusionals. But it’s only delusional if it lacks legitimacy. Kanye and Kim have created a bonafide world where their delusion is both celebrated and recognized as socially (hell, culturally) admissible. It's a profession. At worst, their ego is tolerated or met with an eye roll. But perhaps even scarier, is that at best their ego is consumed passively and quickly normalized.

I can say with some level of confidence that the least of Saint West’s issues during his time in this world will be his name.