Hurricane Andrew, Katrina, Harvey – why are storms given human names? As a personal name enthusiast I’ve always wondered this myself, so I did a little research over at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Center. Before hurricanes had names, they were identified by their original latitude-longitude which could get very cumbersome, especially when the storm information had to be communicated over short wave and public radio!

In the 19th century, hurricanes in the West Indies were named with saint’s names to replace the latitude/longitude names. But there weren’t enough saint’s names to go around! So by the end of the 19th century, they started using women’s given names to name cyclones in the West Indies. Why only women? They took the naming convention from naming boats and sea vessels, which were historically given female names–either after sea goddesses, or as a way for the seafarers to honor their female loved ones back home.

The United States/Atlantic region first tried an alphabetic plan to name storms like Able, Baker, Charlie, similar to the military code. In 1953 the U.S. shifted to also using female names for storms. Men’s names were included in the list for cyclones in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico in 1978, after the rise of the women’s rights movement.

Currently the naming of storms is controlled by the World Meteorological Organization. For Atlantic storms, names are repeated every six years. Storms are still named in alphabetical order, although they don’t use names starting with the letters Q, U, X, Y, or Z because there are not “common enough names” that begin with those letters. If there are more than 21 hurricanes in any given year, then they will start using the Greek alphabet, starting with Alpha.

A hurricane name is retired when a storm is so deadly or costly that using the name for another storm would be confusing or inappropriate.

The Current 6-Year Cycle of Hurricane Names (until one is retired):

2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Andrea Barry Chantal Dorian Erin Fernand Gabrielle Humberto Imelda Jerry Karen Lorenzo Melissa Nestor Olga Pablo Rebekah Sebastien Tanya Van Wendy	Arthur Bertha Cristobal Dolly Edouard Fay Gonzalo Hanna Isaias Josephine Kyle Laura Marco Nana Omar Paulette Rene Sally Teddy Vicky Wilfred	Ana Bill Claudette Danny Elsa Fred Grace Henri Ida Julian Kate Larry Mindy Nicholas Odette Peter Rose Sam Teresa Victor Wanda	Alex Bonnie Colin Danielle Earl Fiona Gaston Hermine Ian Julia Karl Lisa Martin Nicole Owen Paula Richard Shary Tobias Virginie Walter	Arlene Bret Cindy Don Emily Franklin Gert Harold Idalia Jose Katia Lee Margot Nigel Ophelia Philippe Rina Sean Tammy Vince Whitney	Alberto Beryl Chris Debby Ernesto Francine Gordon Helene Isaac Joyce Kirk Leslie Milton Nadine Oscar Patty Rafael Sara Tony Valerie William

List of Retired Atlantic Hurricane Names:

Agnes		1972
Alicia		1983
Allen		1980
Allison		2001
Andrew		1992
Anita		1977
Audrey		1957
Betsy		1965
Beulah		1967
Bob		1991
Camille		1969
Carla		1961
Carmen		1974
Carol		1954
Celia		1970
Cesar		1996
Charley		2004
Cleo		1964
Connie		1955
David		1979
Dean		2007
Dennis		2005
Diana		1990
Diane		1955
Donna		1960
Dora		1964
Edna		1954
Elena		1985
Eloise		1975
Erika		2015
Fabian		2003
Felix		2007
Fifi		1974
Flora		1963
Florence		2018
Floyd		1999
Fran		1996
Frances		2004
Frederic		1979
Georges		1998
Gilbert		1988
Gloria		1985
Greta		1978
Gustav		2008
Harvey		2017
Hattie		1961
Hazel		1954
Hilda		1964
Hortense		1996
Hugo		1989
Igor		2010
Ike		2008
Inez		1966
Ingrid		2013
Ione		1955
Irene		2011
Iris		2001
Irma		2017
Isabel		2003
Isidore		2002
Ivan		2004
Janet		1955
Jeanne		2004
Joan		1988
Joaquin		2015
Juan		2003
Katrina		2005
Keith		2000
Klaus		1990
Lenny		1999
Lili		2002
Luis		1995
Maria		2017
Marilyn		1995
Matthew		2016
Michael		2018
Michelle		2001
Mitch		1998
Nate		2017
Noel		2007
Opal		1995
Otto		2016
Paloma		2008
Rita		2005
Roxanne		1995
Sandy		2012
Stan		2005
Tomas		2010
Wilma		2005

 

Can I get a hurricane named after me or someone I know?

No. The World Meteorological Association maintains strict cyclone naming standards.