I knew that Rumi wasn’t given that name at birth, and instead went by a longer name.

I didn’t know that the name Rumi is not really respectful, to one speaking Arabic, Persian or Turkish.

From a compilation of Mevlevi terms and definitions on the Dar-Al-Masnavi website, Ibrahim Gamard offers this definition and explanation.

Rumi (spelling in Turkish): see Rûmî.

Rûmî (A; derived from Latin, Rome; lit, “Roman” or one who dwells in the Eastern Roman Byzantine land of Anatolia; spelling in Turkish, Rumi; other spellings, Roumi): the name by which Mawlânâ Jalâlu ‘d-dîn al-Balkhî is most often called in Europe and America.

He is not called “Rumi” in Muslim countries where he is referred to much more respectfully (in Turkey, Mevlâna; in Iran, Molavi; in Afghanistan, Mawlânâ or Mawlânâ Jalâluddîn-é Balkhî; in India and Pakistan, Mawlânâ-yé Rûm, Mawlânâ Rûm, Maulana Rum, Mawlana Rum, Molana Roum).

He spent most of his life in Anatolia (now known as Turkey) and died on December 17, 1273, according to the Western solar calendar.

Maybe I will still use Rumi in the U.S., or Mawlânâ Jalâlu ‘d-dîn al-Balkhî if I can remember the spelling.