ONE BABY GIRL, ONE HEARTBREAKING CALL! Will Y&R’s Billy Abbott Name His Daughter After Jill Abbott?

JILL ABBOTT COULD LIVE ON IN HER NEW GRANDDAUGHTER’S NAME

TL;DR: Sally Spectra has delivered a baby girl and Billy Abbott has been told his mother may not survive surgery, which puts Jill Abbott’s name on everyone’s mind. Will the newest Abbott carry it as Jillian, a tiny tribute to the woman who lived, loved, and ran Genoa City on Young and the Restless? Our Tuesday Y&R Canadian Day-Aheadhas the whole wild night, and we suspect the name game is only getting started.

A Baby Girl Arrived Right as the Phone Rang

Young and the Restless has never handed anyone joy without attaching a bill, and Billy Abbott’s arrived by phone. His daughter was born while Jill Abbott lay in a hospital bed in London after a heart attack, and Snapper could not promise she would survive surgery. Imagine getting the best news of your life and the worst news of your life inside the same wedding reception.

The warning signs were there. Jill skipped the wedding last week, saying she needed new tests, and Billy admitted he had been conflicted about having her there because of all the tension. Now the tension is gone and the guilt has moved in, with one cruel twist: he gets to hold his daughter while his mother’s fate hangs on a surgeon.

Billy had even said his wish out loud. At the reception he told Cane Ashby he wished his mother were there, and Cane said he hoped she would arrive in time to meet her grandchild. Instead the baby made her entrance first, and Grandma missed the whole thing.

Cane asked Snapper to hold the phone to Jill’s ear so she could hear the reception, in case it was goodbye. Billy wiped his eyes, then sent Adam Newman’s calls to voicemail, never guessing Adam was upstairs playing midwife. Soaps love dramatic irony, and this one comes with a bow.

Got a name for Billy and Sally’s baby girl, or a wild theory about where Jill’s story goes next? Email us at amber@soapoperamagazine.com, we want to hear it!

Jillian Is the Obvious Name, Which Is Why It Works

Jill Abbott is the only original character still standing, the reigning queen of a town that has never had another kind. Think about what she packed into one life: a teenage manicurist who became head of merchandising at Jabot, walked out of her divorce from John Abbott with a hefty stake in the company, and ended up handpicked by Katherine Chancellor to take over Chancellor Industries. She loved loudly, fought Katherine in the longest feud in soap history, and never once apologized for any of it.

She also understands what a name is worth. Jill gave her first son his father’s name and spent years battling Katherine over who got to raise him. At the rehearsal dinner the Abbotts joked about baby names while Diane felt the baby kick, and no name made it into the recap. Is it possible the writers left that blank on purpose?

A Name Could Be Billy’s Do-Over

Billy has already lived through missing a goodbye, because he missed his chance to say one to his father, and Jill Abbott’s son knows exactly how that feels. Cane is heading to London and told him the choice has to be his, so a name might be the one thing Billy can give his mother from across an ocean. It would be a very Abbott kind of goodbye: loud, sentimental, and impossible to ignore.

Then there is the spoiler schedule. Wednesday has Billy and Sally meeting their first challenge as a married couple, and Thursday has Billy making a promise to Sally. Could that challenge be a flight to London with a newborn in tow, and could that promise be a name?

Sally might say yes in a heartbeat. Jill sent her the something blue for the wedding, a brooch Katherine once gave her, and Sally teared up over it. After losing the baby she and Adam shared, naming this girl after a woman who survives everything could mean a great deal to her.

Would you name Billy’s baby girl Jillian? Tell us in the comments below!

A Name Worth Waiting For

Jillian would give the Abbotts a name they can say with a lump in their throat and a laugh at the same time. It would also suit a woman who lived, loved, and ran Genoa City on her own terms. Jill Abbott would, of course, insist she thought of it first.

Tell us on our Facebook page whether Jillian makes your heart swell or you have a better name for Billy’s daughter.

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