Rumi
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Meaning
"from Rum," the lands once ruled by Rome in Anatolia, in what is now Turkey; the name used for the poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad, who followed the Sufi spiritual tradition within Islam. Rumi is also used as a given name today
The story
Rumi literally means from Rum, the old word for Roman Anatolia, and it survives as the epithet of one beloved man: Jalal ad-Din Muhammad, the thirteenth-century Sufi mystic whose Persian verses on love and longing still sell so well, seven hundred years on, that he is often called one of the best-selling poets in America. His followers founded the whirling dervishes, and his lines are read at weddings the world over. As a given name Rumi is a modern development, and its American life is brand new, appearing in the records only in the most recent decades and remaining uncommon. When Beyoncé and Jay-Z named a twin daughter Rumi in 2017, the name got its biggest headline yet, and its small presence in the data sits right around those years; the timing is hard to ignore. A rare pick that hands a child an entire library.
How popular is Rumi around the world?
In the United States, 1,067 babies were named Rumi between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 37 boys named Rumi were born in 2025, the 856th most common name among boys that year.
Rumi is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, Canada, South Australia, Austria and Brazil.
United States
1 in 20,000
In the United States, 1,067 babies were named Rumi between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rumi peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 8,400
In England and Wales, 37 boys named Rumi were born in 2025, the 856th most common name among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 33 girls named Rumi were born in 2025, ranked 1,028th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 11,000
In Canada, 17 girls named Rumi were born in 2024, ranked 1,399th among girls that year.
In Canada, 16 boys named Rumi were born in 2024, ranked 1,390th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Rumi in 2017.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
1 in 38,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Rumi was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
In Austria, 1 boy named Rumi was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Argentina
last on record 2023
Rumi is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 63 people in Brazil were named Rumi, ranked 56,841st, with a median age of 57.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Poland
last on record 2016
Rumi is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2023
Rumi is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Ireland and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Rumi
Most people given the name Rumi in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Rumi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rumi truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Rumi fits with your family’s names and surname.
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