Kim Kardashian West says Pharrell Williams played a crucial role in the decision to name her baby North West.

The socialite, who gave birth to her first child with husband Kanye West in 2013, explained that Pharrell's eagerness to see the couple realise a tabloid rumour led them to give their daughter the unusual name.

She explained to British GQ magazine that the idea came about when she and Kanye were lunching at The Mercer Hotel in New York, saying: ''It was a rumour in the press and we'd never really considered it seriously, at all.

''But Kanye and I were over there at that table having lunch about a year ago and Pharrell came over to us and said, 'Oh my God, are you guys really going to call your daughter North? That is the best name.'

''I said, 'No, we're not. That's just a rumour.' Then a little while later Anna Wintour [Editor-In-Chief of American Vogue] came over and asked the same thing. She told us, 'North is a genius name.' Kanye and I just looked at each other and laughed. I guess at that point it sort of stuck.''

The 33-year-old brunette gave birth to her daughter at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles.