10
Loading video...
By Rachael O'Connor
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A woman who shared her bemusement at what a senior stranger said to her baby daughter ended up sparking a major conversation online.
Mother of two Sarah, who lives in Ireland, told Newsweek that she chose a less-common name for her 8-month-old daughter, opting to call her Billie.
While the name isn't massively unusual, thanks to the likes of Billie Eilish and Doctor Who star Billie Piper, it isn't one of the more-popular baby names—and Sarah recently learned how some people react to hearing such a moniker.
Read More on Life
Sarah, who gave her first name only, was recently out getting groceries with her baby daughter, when she was stopped in her tracks by a stranger's comment.
In a video to Sarah's TikTok account, @saz_crosbie in February, viewed close to 90,000 times, she recorded her reaction moments after a senior woman commented on her daughter's name.
Taken as she walked out of the store, with her baby strapped to her chest, Sarah explained she was in the line to pay when a woman, "probably in her 80s," began talking to her.
The senior woman asked plenty of questions about Billie, including her age, but then made the query that sparked the controversy: Billie's name.
"I said her name is Billie, like Billie for a girl," Sarah told the camera. "And her reply, straight to Billie's face, was 'You're going to get teased for that.'"
Sarah finished the video by giving the camera a baffled look, but told Newsweek that she understands "the woman didn't mean any harm."
"I just thought it was mad, but also common for the older generation to just say how they feel—they don't hold back."
...
Sarah said that, until that moment, "everyone has said they love the name so much."
And, in fact, it was comments on Sarah's video that shocked her more than the woman's initial opinion, as hundreds flocked to give their own thoughts on Billie's name.
One commented, "She had a point though didn't she," as another suggested the woman was "right."
But others defended Sarah and her choice of name, as one pointed out the woman must have "never heard of Billie Piper," and another wrote: "Billie is such a cute name and has nobody heard of Billie Eilish?"
"My daughter is called Billie and she is eight and doesn't get teased," one posted, and another shared: "My granddaughter is called Frankie. It's not shortened."
Sarah, who admitted she had expected light-hearted comments and laughing emoji on her video rather than a debate on her daughter's name, said: "I can’t understand the urge to comment negatively on someone else’s TikTok! And yes, I think they should keep negative opinions of strangers and their name choices to themselves."
While Billie's name may still be unusual, its popularity is on the rise. Ireland's Central Statistics Office said there were 24 baby girls born in 2025 who were named Billie, making it the 186th most-popular girls' name in the country for that year.
The top five girls' names in Ireland in 2025 were Lily, Éabha, Fiadh, Grace and Sadie. For boys, the most-popular names in 2025 were Rían, Jack, Noah, James and Oisín.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some extra details, and they could appear on our website.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines