During development, Apple's gold iPhone 5s was jokingly called the 'Kardashian'

Apple employees had a humorous nickname for the gold iPhone 5s as they were planning to release the new color option: They called it "The Kardashian Phone."

The nickname, in honor of socialite Kim Kardashian, was first revealed by New York Times reporter Nick Bilton this week on his Twitter account. The information was later corroborated by TechCrunch, though reporter Matthew Panzarino seemed somewhat embarrassed by the proceedings.

"We confirmed the nickname with our sources. Yes, we asked this question of our sources," he wrote.

There are companies that re-color Apple devices, like the iPhone, to give customers a unique device. Kardashian herself was among those who obtained a gold iPhone 5, and boasted about it on Twitter.

Apple this year changed up the color options with its flagship iPhone model, for the first time offering a new gold option. The iPhone 5s does not come in black, like the iPhone 5 did, but is instead available in "space gray" and white.

Early indications suggest the gold iPhone 5s has been a smash hit, with availability of the device extremely limited in the face of what is presumably strong demand.