'08

Michelle Williams’ best friend, actress Busy Phillipps, 29, picked a name for her newborn that joins Audio Science, Peanut Kai, and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily among the list of questionable celebrity baby names. Busy named her baby Birdie.
Actress Busy Philipps and her screenwriter-husband Marc Silverstein are the latest celebs to choose a bizarre name for their baby.
On Thursday, they announced they will call their newborn daughter “Birdie.” (Birdie Leigh Silverstein was born Wednesday, weighing in at 9 lbs., 7 oz., according to E! News. Philipps is godmother to Michelle Williams’ two-year-old daughter, Matilda.)
Lately, celeb parents can’t stop giving their kids unusual monikers.
General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher named his newborn son “Peanut.”
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban settled on “Sunday.”
Jessica Alba went with “Honor” for her little girl.
Chris Martin — dad to “Apple” and “Moses” with wife Gwyneth Paltrow — defended odd baby names.
“There’s nothing weird about calling your baby Chewbacca if that’s what you want to call your baby,” he said. “It’s no stranger than Sarah. A name is just a noise, and if you like it, then f–k what everyone else says.”
[From US Weekly]
Busy’s real name is Elizabeth Jean Phillips and “Busy” is just a nickname she got saddled with as an active toddler. You would think that a grown woman who went through life being called “Busy” would take compassion on her child and give her a name that’s more common, or at least doesn’t sound goofy. Maybe she figured she’d give her daughter a nickname and not wait for her to get assigned one based on her temperament or personality traits. “Birdie” is definitely a name you earn that should be used sparingly by great uncles and best friends. There should be some embarrassing childhood incident associated with a name like that.
It’s not something you want to hear called out when you’re waiting in those hard plastic seats at the DMV. People would stare at you and some would make tweeting sounds under their breath. In this case the poor girl will probably opt for a nickname that sounds more like a proper name, like “Bea.”
Busy Philipps is shown at the Made of Honor premiere on 4/28/08. Credit: Anthony G. Moore / PR Photos

Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Photos


- TV Shows that outstayed their welcome [Pajiba]
- Goopy and Cameron Diaz went to a Coldplay concert [Lainey Gossip]
- The bacon milkshake! [D-Listed]
- Ashanti looks... good? [Go Fug Yourself]
- 20 great songs under 2 minutes [Fark]
- Snooki and J-Woww on notice [IDLYITW]
- Jennifer Aniston through the years [Popsugar]
- Kirsten Dunst looks so pretty here [Evil Beet]
- Mila Kunis without makeup [Celebslam]
- The awful cover letter all of Wall St. is mocking [Gawker]
48 Responses to “Busy Philipps names her daughter “Birdie””
Leave a Reply
By commenting you agree to our comment policy
Use the "Report this comment as spam or abuse" link to ask the moderators to delete a comment if it's offensive. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please e-mail cbcomments at gmail.com to get it retrieved.
Get an icon next to your name by signing up for a free Gravatar
















Amazingly enough, this is not the first Birdie I’ve met.
Also, wasn’t Lady Bird Johnson sometimes called “Bird” by friends and family?
I’ve also known several Honors and one previous Moses. Two Moses if you count Charlton Heston.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Wasn’t the daughter’s name “Birdie” in that silly Sandra Bullock movie… uh… whatchamacallit. The one with Harry Connick?
Edit: Syko – I think Lady Bird’s nickname was Bird and Birdie from childhood, and then Lyndon used it with her affectionately. Yes, I pay too much attention when Doris Kearns Goodwin is interviewed.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I once new a ‘fluffy’. I kid you not. That was not her birth name, but I assure you, EVERYBODY called her Fluffy.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Kaiser, I was just thinking the same
thing – the movie was Hope Floats.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Hope Floats! Thank you, Abby.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
My grandmother’s sister’s name was Birdie. Her real name on her birth certificate. It was not even terribly uncommon for the time.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Right, Kaiser, her real name was Claudia. Her nanny thought she looked like a little old lady bird, and it stuck. Although in later years she did not look like that.
I have, in my time, known a Rose Bush (married name, don’t blame the parents), a Soda Popp and his sister Lolly (not lyin’!) and a woman actually named Kitten.
My paternal grandfather’s name was Napoleon Alexander and my maternal grandfather’s name was Julius Caesar. Weird names are not limited to Hollywood or even the 20th or 21st century.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I was at a Subway sandwich shop once and the sandwich artist was Imuneek (I’m unique). I’d take Birdie over Imuneek any day of the week.
I think Busy Phillipps is so freaking pretty.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Who the hell is Busy Philipps?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
All of the Johnson Family had LBJ as initials. They had to invent something for his wife and Lady Bird (as she had Bird as a nickname already) fit into that better than Claudia, her real name. Lynda Baines and Lucy Bird were their daughters. More useless history, but hey, it fits in here.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
“You would think that a grown woman who went through life being called “Busy” would take compassion on her child and give her a name that’s more common, or at least doesn’t sound goofy.”
You couldn’t have said it better CB
We can only hope Birdy and Peanut get together when they grow older
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I love Busy Phillips! She has just always seemed so cool.
Anyway, I like Birdie. Its fun & happy.
But I like most of the “wierd” baby names
My grandmother’s name was Wilma Hermina, after her dad, William Herman. I think THAT is cruel!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I went to school with a “Busy” and I have no idea what her real name was, that may have been it. My friend named his kid “Rip”. I knew a Charity and her sister Patience. Is it really weird that I want to name my next boy Lucius? I like it. I know. Whatever. That movie Where the Heart Is, now those kids had some funny names. Americus, Brownie, Praline… haha.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I’ve met a Cookie and a Sunshine. And I know a family that just named their poor defenseless son “Rowdy.”
Report this comment as spam or abuse
How do you pronounce Busy? Bussee?
Bizee? That is a strange name. I like Birdie, I think it’s ultra feminine.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
“You would think that a grown woman who went through life being called “Busy” would take compassion on her child and give her a name that’s more common, or at least doesn’t sound goofy.”
maybe she likes her name and doesn’t think it’s goofy. i like Birdie. good for her for not giving a dang and naming her kid what she wanted and not what she thought society would accept as normal.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
This is a very cute name. Besides, “Bertie” is a nickname for Roberta. I’ve known several people with that name, granted they were mostly 60+ in age.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
lol, loving Syko’s Soda Popp and Lolly Popp and texasmom’s Rowdy!
Birdie’s not that uncommon, not too keen on it, reminds me too much of Bridie (derivative of Bridget) – now there’s a name to hate.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Birdie Phillip’s not so bad. As a nickname or a regular name. Apple Martin might get the nickname Appletini, tho. I’m willing to bet money on that.
What wonderful rarefied air celebs get to breathe.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I went to school with several oddly named people. Treasure, Shasta, Tuesday, Trice, Knut.. This was 20 years ago! I think there have always been those who just like the odd names.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Oh I forgot to mention a friend who named her newly born daughter Fonda after going into labor while watching the Jane Fonda workout tapes.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I met a girl named “Puddin” once, but she was pretty country so it fit. Busy is so cute/pretty and looks so happy! Is that the same dress A Jolie wore in Cannes? Busy ROCKS it.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I think Birdie is super cute. Very old fashioned. It’s better than Apple, that’s for sure. My daughter goes to school with two sisters named, Lollipop and Jelly Bean. Imagine that?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Rowdy is a good name for a Texas boy!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Ugh.
I knew 4 sisters when I was a kid. Their names were Misty, Stormy, Rainy and Sunny.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Yep, plenty of weird names in the “civilian” world. I have known baby girls named Savannah Champaine [sic] (umm, strippers much?), twin baby girls Hennesey and Tequila, a pre-law studend named Cupcake Brown, etc.
My mother swears that when she worked with the Census bureau she came across people with various diseases/names. The most notable of which was Gonorhea.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Used to have a client here whose name was Venus Parfait. I always thought if I ever became a hooker, that’s the name I’d use.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I personally have always loved the odd names that come from the African-American culture here. Names like Keeshon & Chanterelle are priceless. Taneisha is always a hit.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
How about the guy with the last name of Trout? He named his kids Brook and Rainbow.
Poor defesnless children, I’d petition for a name change at 18.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Isn’t Chanterelle a mushroom?
As bad baby names go – Birdie is quite cute and there are worse names to be lumbered with. Like “Baby” it’s a common enough nickname, in Ireland at least. (And yes I do know older people called “Baby” – one was a beloved family friend)
At least she’s not spelling it “Byrdee”:roll:
For those who like “yewneek” names and spellings – because the kid’s DNA isn’t individual enough – please do not click on this link…
http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/
I LOVE the sarcastic comments on it – the site owner is like a mix of Jaybird, vdantev and xiaoecho
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I have a cousin named Charity, I don’t think thats one is bad at all
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Has anyone heard of that poor little girl in New Zealand whose parents named her “Tallulah does the Hula from Hawaii”? It was in the news about a month ago that the C.A.S. (or NZ equivalent) took them to court for child abuse. In the same article I read about a boy named “Busstop #6″.
So there’s that, and then there’s the fact that there were 6 girls in my grade 9 gym class who shared my name. I’m not sure which is better…
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I rather like “Honor” as a name, a throwback to early American days with names like Faith, Hope, Charity…Honor fits right in with that. Besides, it shows what Jessica hopes her child will have!
Birdie…I don’t know. Not too bad. (As a sidenote, anyone remember the children’s book, “Catherine, Called Birdy”?)
Report this comment as spam or abuse
i like the name birdie! i’m from the south and have run across a couple of birdies. we love us some weird names down there!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Tammy: I think Lucius is a great name.
My coworker had a list of Mormon names, and while there were quite a few interesting ones, we all immediately zeroed in on Vulva Mae. Now THAT’S a classic.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I can’t believe some of these names!
Compared to Syko’s Popp family and their friends Imuneek and Vulva Mae, Birdie is positively hum-drum!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
How could I possibly forget that I worked with a woman named P.J. for none other than Peaches Josephine. I couldn’t make it up.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Aw, I think it’s cute. I also think Apple is cute and the Demi/Bruce kids have cute names, too. I almost like the Jolie/Pitt kids’ names, too. Birdie sounds slightly old fashioned and um, somehow British, but I’m not sure why. Maybe because the girl from Atonement was named ‘Briney’. Anyway, I don’t think it’s nearly as awful as the other examples.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Who is this person?? Never heard or seen her before.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Just when I thought the names couldn’t get any worse….
Report this comment as spam or abuse
So she gave birth to an 80 year old woman then? It always makes me laugh when people give their kids senior citizen names, I know they weren’t always considered to be that. But they definitely are now. On a side note though, I love busy phillips YAY for white chicks! one of the most hilarious movies EVER!! she’s really pretty in such an unconventional way, which is always my favorite type of beauty.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Uh oh, my daughter is named Snowflake. Weird huh? She is 7 and LOVES her name!
But maybe I’m just another “Hollywood” type! Ha! Cheers!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Birdie is a name of three generations of women in my family…short for Birdenia. My aunt Birdie married a man named Peacock. Yep, Birdie Peacock.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
i once met a “love rimmer.” i wish i was kidding.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Met a little black girl named Unique the other day. She was really cute too!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Busy was on Freaks and Geeks. She was the bad girl! I actually really liked her on the show…what’s she doing these days besides having kids?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
busy philipps is genius. her serie emergency room, dawson and the freak and geeks aremarvellous. she is a magnificent and wonder actress. congratulations busy for your first child birdie leigh!!! it is genius for to watch photos about birdie if you are ok. thank- you very much. at pleasure. sincerely and best regards. marie- line
Report this comment as spam or abuse
That baby name is a cute one.
Report this comment as spam or abuse