Love Island’s Billykiss reveals the ancient meaning of her name and why she changed it

Love Island’s Bilikis ‘Billykiss’ Azeez has responded to the claims she “westernised” her name “for the British public”, revealing it’s ancient history and the real reason for the switch.

In a tale as old as Love Island itself, Billykiss was gone too soon. She entered the season 12 villa as a bombshell on day 22, dating Conor Phillips, Giorgio Russo, and Boris Vidovic before being dumped on day 42 following a public vote for favourite girl. Still, you’ll often find people calling her a “goddess” on Instagram, and as it turns out, she was basically named after one.

What’s the meaning of Billykiss’ name?

@billykissazeez

Who knew my name would spark so much conversation… same name, just extra letters 💋

♬ original sound – Billykiss

In a TikTok video that has since recieved nearly 800k views and 80k likes, Billykiss delved into the Love Island name discourse by settling the matter once and for all.

“Let’s clear this up, my name is Billykiss, Bilikis, it is an Arabic name meaning Queen of Sheba,” she said, referencing the historical figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Since then, the figure has featured in Judaism, Ethiopian Christianity, and Islam. “Yes, I am Nigerian and a practising Muslim.”

There are many variations of the name Bilikis, from Bilikisu to Bilquis, the Love Islander pointed out.

Why did Billykiss change it before Love Island?

Credit: ITV

In the video, Billykiss also revealed that she’d weathered some criticism around changing her name. According to her, people had claimed she “westernised” her name for the British public, or to hide her identity and background entirely.

“It is just a stage name,” she argued, going into the many variations as proof. “I added an extra y and an s, and that is literally it.”

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People thanked Billykiss for sharing, with bombshell Lucy Quinn responding: “Love this, well said girlie.”

“My sister’s name is also Queen of Sheba – Makeda, but Bilqis in Arabic is such a beautiful name,” someone else wrote.

Another said, “Bilqees is such a wonderful name. Who better than the Queen of Sheba to be named after? I’m in my 30s, and it has taken ALL OF THIS TIME for me to force people to say my name properly. So I get it. But making people say your name properly is an option too, just saying….”

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Featured image credit: ITV/Billykiss