Kanye (name)

Kanye /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/ is an Igbo name meaning "Let's give" or to give honor, tribute.^[1] The name is usually a shorter version of another name e.g. Kanyechukwuekele ("let's give God praise").

Kanye is also a short form of Adekanye, a popular Yoruba name. The Yoruba tend to drop the prefixes in their names during everyday usage.

Kanye means "Only One" in the South African Xhosa language. Xhosa is a Bantu language, so it is highly possible therefore that there are other Bantu languages where Kanye means "the Only One" or something similar, or the translation of "the Only One" is a word related to the Xhosa word.

See also

• Kanye, Botswana
• Kanye West

Notes