There Are So Many Possible Meanings To The Names Beyoncé & Jay-Z Gave Their Twins

The news broke that the newest members of the Beyhive, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's twins, might be named Rumi and Sir. Wait, you say, I thought they were Shawn Jr. and Bea?

Internet memes aside, that rumor made some sense (and it was easy to look up the meaning of Shawn and Bea in one of those gigantic baby name books). Then, it came out that the newest scions of the Knowles-Carter empire are, (most-likely) instead, Rumi and Sir; names which are a whole lot harder to decipher.

The power couple's company has filed trademarks for all sort of baby products and merchandise with two names, according to the Los Angeles Times. But aside from a branded Rumi rattle coming to a store near you, what do the names mean?

Let's start with Rumi. This one might be familiar to many of you as the name of poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. In 2014, the BBC named Rumi as "the most popular poet in the U.S." The Persian poet is a poet of "joy and love," expert Brad Gooch told the BBC. Rumi also practiced a meditative, whirling dance during his time in the 13th century.

Rumi is also a Japanese name, according to website nameberry.com, and it means "flow" or "beauty."

As for Sir, that's either a lot simpler or a whole lot more complicated. We all know sir as a way to address a man and as the title given to knights, as in Sir Lancelot. But does it have any secret meaning that we're just not seeing? There are others out there with the unusual name. Names.org says that in 2014, 58 babies have been born in the United States with the name Sir and 1878 is when the first U.S. baby was born. The site even gives a random Sir factoid:"According to the 2005 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Sir is not a popular baby boy's name in Texas. Imagine that, only 9 babies in Texas have the same name as you in 2005." Good money says that the love for the name Sir in the Lone Star State, particularly Houston (Bey's hometown), might see a spike in 2017.

There is also a connection between the two names that we told you about before in a famous quote from Rumi: "Bring the pure wine of love and freedom. But sir, a tornado is coming. More wine, we'll teach this storm A thing or two about whirling."

Unless we get it straight from the source, we may not know the inspiration or the meaning behind the names. But check out this answer from a friendly poster at Yahoo! Answers when asked the meaning of Rumi, over a decade ago: "Rumi means things become clear through their opposites." Meditate on that one for a while.