Rumi
Meaning
literally 'from Rūm' (Roman Anatolia), the epithet by which the beloved Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad is known; now also used as a modern given name in its own right
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rumi peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
63 people · the #56,841 first name in Brazil · median age 57
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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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