Why do Billie Eilish and Finneas Have Different Last Names?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Pop Last Updated November 17, 2022

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Billie Eilish’s talented brother, Finneas plays almost all the music on her recordings and plays in concert with her too. But why do Billie Eilish and Finneas have different last names?

Both Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas have the last name of O’Connell. However, Billie decided to use one of her middle names, Eilish, as her stage name. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.

Now, Finneas is still producing and writing for his sister, but he has stepped out from behind the curtain.

I wanted to know more about singer Billie Eilish, her name, her relationship with her family, as well as if she has any more siblings, so I did some digging.

Here is everything I found.

Are Finneas and Billie Eilish half-siblings?

Finneas and Billie Eilish are not half-siblings and share the same mother and father, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell. So Billie Eilish and Finneas are full siblings.

And the family still lives in Los Angeles as their parents are somewhat well-known actors.

Some people may think this because of her last name. As mentioned before, Eilish is not the singer’s last name. The fact that they are full siblings becomes clearer when people understand this.

As many fans know, Billie and Finneas are very close to each other.

Not only has he served as the main collaborator since 2013 for his younger sister, but they have always supported each other. And Finneas has had a lot to do with her success starting with Bad Guy.

Billie wants the best for her brother. 

Their close relationship was shown in Billie Eilish’s Apple TV documentary. The doc was filmed the morning the Grammy awards were announced. Billie was, of course, happy to be nominated for record of the year, but she cared more about her brother’s nomination.

And aside from winning album of the year for her debut album, she also won best new artist, and best original song. And Finneas had a lot to do with both of those awards.

And she’s already done the theme song for a James Bond film (No Time to Die).

Finneas has also been to several awards shows with his sister. These siblings have truly gained and shared fame together. It’s pretty rare to see a duo like this in the entertainment industry.

She had her first release in 2015 with a song 100% written by Finneas called “Ocean Eyes” from the “Everything, Everything” soundtrack. That started her music career and was released on the Interscope Records subsidiary label Darkroom.

She’s been with them ever since.

How did Billie Eilish’s parents come up with her name?

Billie Eilish’s middle name of Pirate was chosen due to her then 4-year-old brother Finneas referring to her as “pirate” while their mother Maggie Baird was pregnant with Billie. Baird was then selected as another middle name along with the traditional Irish name of Eilish.

And, of course, the O’Connell family is of Irish ancestry.

But there is a pretty interesting and heartwarming story for how Billie got her name. Her full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell.

First off, her first name was originally going to be Pirate, but shortly before she was born, her grandfather William “Billie” passed away.

So, then Pirate was moved to a middle name status along with her mom Maggie’s maiden name of Baird. This is actually her mother’s name. Many people may wonder where Eilish came from. Apparently, it’s the Irish variant of the name Elizabeth, and not of Scottish decent.

It’s clear that Billie and Finneas’ parents wanted their kids to stand out.

They were okay with them having unique names. This often helps kids step into their own because they become accustomed to being different.

What is Billie Eilish’s real name?

Billie Eilish’s real full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell. Baird is her mother’s maiden name, while Pirate was a nickname from her then 4-year-old brother Finneas.

As mentioned before, her real name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell. Yes, she has three middle names. This is something unique as most people only have one.

Billie was born to stand out.

A big part of being a pop superstar is standing out. Of course, Billie does not use her full name as a pop star, but the use of Eilish as her stage last name helps her make an impact.

People have questions about her name because it’s different. It’s a name that’s fun to say, it provokes conversation, and it’s perfect for a famous person.

Of course, her parents didn’t know that she’d be a star when they named her.

It should be noted that many young singers do not use their names at all. It’s interesting that Billie was able to use her first name as her middle name to construct her pop persona.

This allows her to bring a little more of herself to her career.

Do Billie Eilish and Finneas have any other siblings?

Billie Eilish and Finneas are the only children of Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, and they do not have other siblings. 

The bond between only siblings is strong.

This is because, in terms of kids, they are the only ones in the household. The strong sibling bond can be seen between Billie and brother Finneas O’Connell when they interact in public.

The bond they share seems to be a truly positive one.

They are creative together, they seem to offer advice to one another, and again, sibling brother and sister who are close is rare in the industry.

Now that Finneas is releasing music of his own, Billie can support her older brother the way he has supported her. Of course, she is not his producer, but he can lend the same sibling support.

He’s even produced such big names in pop music as Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, and Justin Bieber and become one of the top producers in the music industry.

They truly seem to be the embodiment of the perfect brother and sister.

Are Billie and Finneas twins?

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas are not twins. Eilish was born in 2001, and Finneas was born four and a half years earlier in 1997.

Many people have started to wonder if Billie and Finneas are actually twins. However, they are not. In fact, Finneas is older and actually helped pick his younger sister’s name.

They look similar. 

It is easy to see why some may think the two are twins. Being brother and sister, they do look similar. This is what causes many to believe they are twins and not only brother and sister.

Also, twins tend to have a special bond. To many people, it seems Finneas and Billie have this same bond.

Their chemistry is also unmatched.

The fact that they both make music and work so closely also makes people think they are twins. I even wonder if they could have fooled us all if they’d wanted to pretend to be twins as a joke.

Billie Eilish on Going to Space, Writing Songs with Finneas, New Album & Her Bucket List

Conclusion

Billie Eilish has become a mainstream pop star over the last few years.

I wrote extensively about her music in a recent article. It takes a look at how her songs are made, if she uses autotune, as well as if she can actually sing.

In terms of Billie and her brother Finneas, he has been there since the beginning. This is true in a literal sense as he is older. It is clear they both fully support each other.

They are the latest example of siblings in the industry.

They remind me of a version of Brandy and her younger brother, Ray J. It’s always heartwarming to see the love between family members in the spotlight.

Photo that requires attribution:

CoronaCapFest19-76 by Raph_PH is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text overlay added.

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