Fun Facts About the Name Rumi
- More than 1 thousand babies named Rumi: U.S. records list 1,623 babies given the name Rumi from 1880 through 2025. Even 670 boys received the name Rumi.
What Does the Name Rumi Mean?
Rumi comes from two unrelated sources. In Arabic it is the relational adjective (nisba) Rūmī, meaning "Roman" or "of Rūm." Rūm is the Arabic term for the Roman Empire and, after its division, the Byzantine Empire; the word goes back to Greek Rhōmaîoi and Latin Romani, "Romans." In later Arabic and Persian usage Rūm often meant Anatolia, the former Byzantine heartland, so the name's literal sense is "from Roman or Byzantine territory," not a reference to the city of Rome.
The Japanese feminine name Rumi is usually written in hiragana (るみ) or katakana (ルミ) and has no single meaning. When it is written in kanji, the sense depends on the characters chosen: a common combination is 瑠 (lapis lazuli) with 美 (beauty), giving "beautiful lapis lazuli," but other combinations yield other meanings. This Japanese name is not related to Arabic Rūmī.
Rumi Name History & Origins
Arabic Rūmī began as a byname telling where a person was from or where he had lived. Its best-known bearer is Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207 - 1273), the Persian poet and Sufi teacher. He was born in Balkh, in present-day Afghanistan, and settled in Konya, in Anatolia, which was then ruled by the Rum Seljuks; because of that connection he was called Rūmī, "the one from Rūm." The descriptive byname is older than its use as a personal name. Rumi has since been adopted as a given name, especially in Turkey and other Muslim countries, where it can carry the sense "from Anatolia" or be chosen with the poet in mind.
In Japan, Rumi is a feminine given name. Like many Japanese names, its written form is not fixed, and parents select the characters, so the same sound carries different meanings from one family to another. The Arabic and Japanese names are spelled and pronounced similarly in English but have separate histories.
How Popular is the Name Rumi?
Rumi has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,283 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,283 | 175 | 0.0109% |
| 2024 | #1,718 | 118 | 0.0073% |
| 2023 | #1,932 | 103 | 0.0064% |
| 2022 | #1,893 | 107 | 0.0065% |
| 2021 | #2,115 | 90 | 0.0055% |
| 2020 | #2,254 | 80 | 0.0050% |
| 2019 | #2,624 | 67 | 0.0040% |
| 2018 | #3,602 | 43 | 0.0025% |
| 2017 | #5,028 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2016 | #4,965 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2015 | #4,961 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2014 | #7,243 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2013 | #6,428 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2012 | #10,302 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #11,968 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2010 | #16,567 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #19,640 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #13,677 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #19,455 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2002 | #15,023 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,931 | 81 | 0.0047% |
| 2024 | #2,146 | 69 | 0.0040% |
| 2023 | #2,268 | 63 | 0.0037% |
| 2022 | #2,459 | 57 | 0.0033% |
| 2021 | #2,214 | 64 | 0.0037% |
| 2020 | #2,315 | 59 | 0.0034% |
| 2019 | #2,547 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 2018 | #2,540 | 51 | 0.0028% |
| 2017 | #3,502 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2016 | #4,176 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2015 | #4,859 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2014 | #8,012 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2013 | #7,987 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #6,952 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #7,405 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #8,017 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2009 | #9,697 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #12,272 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #8,783 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #11,769 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2005 | #8,938 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #9,741 | 7 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Rumi Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. Emergencies may raise your intuitive abilities in order to resolve conflict or situation. You become very creative under the pressure, and have quite original ideas to make the best out of it.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Rumi's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Rumi's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.