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Thoughts on Billie?
as a nn for Willow / Willa / Wilhelmina, or on its own. WDYT?
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If it has to be used, I'd like it as a nickname for Wilhelmina. On its own, Billie doesn't sound very feminine. Billie Burke could pull it off, but even in her case Billie wasn't her real name.
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I don't like Billie as a nn for the names you mentioned, but I do like it as a full name on it's own. For some reason I've always been fond of the name, but I'm not sure why.
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I met a woman named Wilhelmina "Billie" a while ago and I've loved it ever since. I don't care for it on it's own, though. Not at all.
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Billie always reminds me of WWII, Rosie the Riveter type gals. Love it. As long as the feminine form is spelled with an "-ie" and the male form with a "-y," then I don't mind the gender-bending aspect. Billie can stand on its own. The whole point of it is to be bold and independant, just like the WWII gals. But it certainly works as a nn for Wilhelmina and Willa. Willow is stretching it a bit, but sure, why not? While we're at it, I can also see Billie as a nn for Sibyl / Sibylla and Cybele ("SIB-uh-lee"). I don't care for Jubilee as a formal name, but it's another possibility.

This message was edited 1/29/2011, 11:23 AM

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I go back and forth on this one. Sometimes I can only see it as a masculine name (which is odd because I love NNs like Charlie, Teddy, Micky, etc. for girls), but then other days it sounds so sweetly old fashioned and I can't help but think of Billie Holiday. Either way, if I heard someone talking about a Billie I would never think to question whether it was a little girl or boy. On the plus side, if she does decide that Billie is to masculine Willow, Willa and Wilhelmina (or even Mina) are fantastic names to fall back on.
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Ditto on Wilhelmina, nn Billie or Mina. The more options the better. :-)
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I don't like it on its own, but it's okay as nickname for Willow, Willa or Wilhelmina.
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Very cute as a nickname. Don't care for it on its own.
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ditto
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I have decidedI love it. I love Billie Holiday, I love Wilhelmina and Willa, and I'm getting into the rockabilly/Gothabilly scene just now so it reminds me of hip kitsch. So I love it.
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I'm not too fond of it on its own because it doesn't strike me as having enough substance, but it's fine as a nickname for Willow, Willa, or Wilhelmina.
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I adore Billie on her own.Billie Bellatrix (nickname Bibi)
Billie Elinor
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