Kanye West has gone by "Ye" for years, but in August 2021, he filed a court petition in hopes of making it his legal name, per court documents. Here is a screenshot from the filing, found on the Los Angeles Superior Court's website:
The petition, filed Aug. 24, 2021, seeks to change West's name from "Kanye Omari West" to simply "YE." West expressed his intent to only be known as "YE" in a 2018 Twitter post.
The reason West gave for the request, which must be approved by a judge before it's official, was "personal," Variety reported. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Oct. 18, 2021, in Downtown Los Angeles.
In March 2021, an unsubstantiated rumor circulated online stating that West was attempting to get the name of the city of Rye, New York changed to "Ye."