Hurricane Names: Where Do They Come From?
Helene, Milton, Oscar, Beryl…
Old-fashioned names with one thing in common.
They’re four of the 18 named storms that made the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season the deadliest in nearly two decades.[1]
These named tropical storms and hurricanes caused hundreds of deaths in the US and over $190 billion in damage.
Daniel Gilford, a researcher with Climate Central, says, " As hurricanes grow larger, stronger, and wetter, they're posing an increased threat to inland areas far from the coast.”
Heavy rainfall events and flash floods from tropical cyclones are becoming increasingly common.
Because of the destruction they caused, hurricane names like Katrina and Helene are almost impossible to forget.
But how did they get those names in the first place?
Explore the Naming Process of Hurricanes
Assigning Christian names to tropical storms and hurricanes is a tradition that dates back hundreds of years.
In the West Indies, hurricanes were often named after the Roman Catholic “Saints’ Day” on which the storm occurred.
For example, Hurricane Santa Ana made landfall on Puerto Rico with devastating force on July 26, 1825.
Saint Anne’s Feast Day, which celebrates the mother of the Virgin Mary, is observed on July 26th in the Catholic Church tradition.
In 1953, the United States officially began giving female names to tropical cyclones, a process that remained largely the same until 1978, when men’s names also started being assigned to hurricanes.
The practice of naming tropical and subtropical cyclones — which includes tropical storms and hurricanes — has been a source of considerable controversy. It has been the responsibility of numerous government institutions, including the National Hurricane Center in the US.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) currently manages the naming of tropical cyclones but delegates the responsibility to various regional bodies worldwide.
Hurricane Naming Organizations by Region (Ocean Basin)
Ocean Basin | Responsible Naming Body | Abbreviation / RSMC |
Atlantic / Eastern North Pacific | National Hurricane Center | NHC / RSMC Miami |
Central North Pacific | Central Pacific Hurricane Center | CPHC / RSMC Honolulu |
Western North Pacific / South China Sea | Japan Meteorological Agency | JMA / RSMC Tokyo |
North Indian Ocean | India Meteorological Department | IMD / RSMC New Delhi |
South-West Indian Ocean | Météo-France La Réunion | MFR / RSMC La Réunion |
South-West Pacific | Fiji Meteorological Service | FMS / RSMC Nadi |
Australian Region | Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) |
|
Indonesian Region | Badan Meteorologi Klimatologi dan Geofisika | BMKG / TCWC Jakarta |
Papua New Guinea Region | Papua New Guinea National Weather Service | PNGNWS / TCWC Port Moresby |
(Source: World Meteorological Organization)
How Hurricane Names Are Chosen
Each regional tropical cyclone naming organization has unique guidelines that take into account multiple factors, including language, culture, and name recognizability.
Most named tropical storms and hurricanes that directly impact the continental US occur in the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific Ocean Basins. The National Hurricane Center administers them under WMO supervision.
Cyclones are named alphabetically in this region and alternate between male and female names.
The RA IV Hurricane Committee, made up of members from various countries in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, selects from lists of proper names proposed by WMO Members’ National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.
Tropical cyclone names are approved primarily based on the following factors:
Short in character length for ease of use in communication
Easy to pronounce
Appropriate significance in different languages
Uniqueness – the same names cannot be used in other regions.
Once the list is approved, the National Hurricane Center (NHC), part of the U.S. National Weather Service, assigns names from the pre-approved lists to storms as they develop in the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific basins.
US Hurricane Name Lists 2025-2030
Named tropical storms and hurricanes that originate in the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific basins follow a similar naming protocol.
Bodies of water in the two basins include the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the North Atlantic Ocean.
There are six lists of names used in rotation, meaning that names in 2025 are recycled for use in 2031, and so on.
Exceptions are made for names of exceptionally “deadly or costly” storms, such as Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton in 2024.
Retired Names are replaced by selections from the WMO’s Alternate Storm Names List.
The Alternate Names list is also used if there are more than twenty-one named tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin in any given year.
Notable bodies of water in the Atlantic Basin include:
The North Atlantic Ocean
The Caribbean Sea
The Gulf of Mexico
Atlantic Basin Tropical Cyclone Names 2025-2030
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
Andrea | Arthur | Ana | Alex | Arlene | Alberto |
Barry | Bertha | Bill | Bonnie | Bret | Brianna |
Chantal | Cristobal | Claudette | Colin | Cindy | Chris |
Dexter | Dolly | Danny | Danielle | Don | Debby |
Erin | Edouard | Elsa | Earl | Emily | Ernesto |
Fernand | Fay | Fred | Farrah | Franklin | Francine |
Gabrielle | Gonzalo | Grace | Gaston | Gert | Gordon |
Humberto | Hanna | Henri | Hermine | Harold | Holly |
Imelda | Isaias | Imani | Idris | Idalia | Isaac |
Jerry | Josephine | Julian | Julia | Jose | Joyce |
Karen | Kyle | Kate | Karl | Katia | Kirk |
Lorenzo | Leah | Larry | Lisa | Lee | Leslie |
Melissa | Marco | Mindy | Martin | Margot | Miguel |
Nestor | Nana | Nicholas | Nicole | Nigel | Nadine |
Olga | Omar | Odette | Owen | Ophelia | Oscar |
Pablo | Paulette | Peter | Paula | Philippe | Patty |
Rebekah | Rene | Rose | Richard | Rina | Rafael |
Sebastien | Sally | Sam | Shary | Sean | Sara |
Tanya | Teddy | Teresa | Tobias | Tammy | Tony |
Van | Vicky | Victor | Virginie | Vince | Valerie |
Wendy | Wilfred | Wanda | Walter | Whitney | William |
Eastern North Pacific Basin hurricane names are also recycled every six years, except for notable names that are retired.
As no names are used in both basins, the Eastern North Pacific Alternate Names list is different from the Atlantic.
Notable bodies in the Eastern North Pacific Basin include:
Gulf of Alaska:
Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez)
Gulf of Tehuantepec
Eastern North Pacific Basin Tropical Cyclone Names 2025-2030
2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
Alvin | Amanda | Andres | Agatha | Adrian | Aletta |
Barbara | Boris | Blanca | Blas | Beatriz | Bud |
Cosme | Cristina | Carlos | Celia | Calvin | Carlotta |
Dalila | Douglas | Dolores | Darby | Debora | Daniel |
Erick | Elida | Enrique | Estelle | Eugene | Emilia |
Flossie | Fausto | Felicia | Frank | Fernanda | Fabio |
Gil | Genevieve | Guillermo | Georgete | Greg | Gilma |
Henriette | Hernan | Hilda | Howard | Hilary | Hector |
Ivo | Iselle | Ignacio | Ivette | Irwin | Ileana |
Juliette | Julio | Jimena | Javier | Jova | Jake |
Kiko | Karina | Kevin | Kay | Kenneth | Kristy |
Lorena | Lowell | Linda | Lester | Lidia | Lane |
Mario | Marie | Marty | Madeline | Max | Miriam |
Narda | Norbert | Nora | Newton | Norma | Norman |
Octave | Odalys | Olaf | Orlene | Otilio | Olivia |
Priscilla | Polo | Pamela | Paine | Pilar | Paul |
Raymond | Rachel | Rick | Roslyn | Ramon | Rosa |
Sonia | Simon | Sandra | Seymour | Selma | Sergio |
Tico | Trudy | Terry | Tina | Todd | Tara |
Velma | Vance | Vivian | Virgil | Veronica | Vicente |
Wallis | Winnie | Waldo | Winifred | Wiley | Willa |
Xina | Xavier | Xina | Xavier | Xina | Xavier |
York | Yolanda | York | Yolanda | York | Yolanda |
Zelda | Zeke | Zelda | Zeke | Zelda | Zeke |
(Source: NOAA)
Gender and Other Hurricane Naming Controversies
Naming tropical cyclones is intended to facilitate communication about storms and hurricanes before, during, and after they make landfall.
However, the naming process itself has been the subject of numerous controversies in the US.
From 1953 to 1979, tropical storms and hurricanes in the US were exclusively given female names.
The convention grew out of the maritime tradition of referring to boats and the ocean in feminine terms.
However, as the feminist movement of the late 1960s and 1970s and the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) gathered steam, naming deadly storms exclusively after women became a subject of increased scrutiny and protest.
Movement leader Roxcy Bolton spearheaded a campaign to include men’s names in hurricane lists, saying at the time that women “deeply resent being arbitrarily associated with disaster.”
According to the New York Times, “The National Organization for Women passed a resolution urging that the National Hurricane Center stop naming emerging tempests exclusively after women [in the early 1970s].”
In 1979, the NHC began alternating male and female names, a practice that continues today.
In 2014, a controversial study titled Female Hurricanes Are Deadlier Than Male Hurricanes” claimed that “feminine-named hurricanes (vs. masculine-named hurricanes) cause significantly more deaths, apparently because they lead to lower perceived risk and consequently less preparedness.”
Although this theory has largely been debunked, new controversies about hurricane naming continue to surface regularly, even today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Have a Tropical Storm or Hurricane Named After Me?
If your name is Sean and there are 22 named storms in the Atlantic Basin in 2029, the answer is yes. Naming tropical cyclones is an arbitrary process involving multiple national and international authorities. Names are decided years in advance and are typically reused numerous times. There’s no mechanism to sponsor or name a hurricane for yourself or anyone else. If you’re waiting for Hurricane Elon, don’t hold your breath.
Final Thoughts
What’s in a (hurricane) name?
Hopefully, you now have a clear understanding of how tropical storms and hurricanes get their names.
Unfortunately, our warming planet is making named storms more frequent and deadly, no matter what they’re called.
Tropical storms and hurricanes frequently cause widespread power outages, which can last for days or even weeks.
EcoFlow makes a wide variety of whole-home backup generators that can keep you and your family safe and comfortable when a blackout hits.
Check out our selection today.
Resources Cited
Rott, Nathan. 2024. “Shovel by Shovel, N.C. Towns Dig out from Helene Mud and Debris.” NPR. October 3, 2024. https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2024/10/02/g-s1-25941/north-carolina-marshall-hot-springs-helene-cleanup.
“Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names.” 2015. Noaa.gov. 2015. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml.
“Patron Saints - St. Anne Catholic Church.” 2015. St. Anne Catholic Church. September 14, 2015. https://stanneparish.org/patron-saints/.
Center, National Hurricane. 2025. “National Hurricane Center.” Noaa.gov. 2025. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.
“Tropical Cyclone Naming.” 2023. World Meteorological Organization. November 23, 2023. https://wmo.int/resources/wmo-fact-sheets/tropical-cyclone-naming.
“Tropical Cyclone Names.” 2025. Noaa.gov. 2025. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml.
“Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic Names.” 2023. World Meteorological Organization. November 28, 2023. https://wmo.int/content/tropical-cyclone-naming/caribbean-sea-gulf-of-mexico-and-north-atlantic-names.
“Eastern North Pacific Names.” 2023. World Meteorological Organization. November 29, 2023. https://wmo.int/content/tropical-cyclone-naming/eastern-north-pacific-names.
Little, Becky. 2017. “Why Hurricanes and Tropical Storms Were Only Named after Women | HISTORY.” HISTORY. August 2017. https://www.history.com/articles/why-hurricanes-and-tropical-storms-were-only-named-after-women.
Holmes, Tao Tao. 2016. “Tropical Storms Were Once Named after Wives, Girlfriends, and Disliked Politicians.” Atlas Obscura. March 23, 2016. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tropical-storms-were-once-named-after-wives-girlfriends-and-disliked-politicians.
“‘Female’ Hurricanes Are Deadlier.” 2025. Science.org. https://doi.org/10.1126/article.23031.
Roberts, Sam. 2017. “Roxcy Bolton, Feminist Crusader for Equality, Including in Naming Hurricanes, Dies at 90.” Nytimes.com. The New York Times. May 22, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/us/roxcy-bolton-dead-feminist-hurricane-names.html.
Law, Tara. 2019. “Virginia Just Became the 38th State to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Here’s What to Know about the History of the ERA.” TIME. Time. August 23, 2019. https://time.com/5657997/equal-rights-amendment-history/.
Jung, Kiju, Sharon Shavitt, Madhu Viswanathan, and Joseph M Hilbe. 2014. “Female Hurricanes Are Deadlier than Male Hurricanes.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (24): 8782–87. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402786111.
Malter, Daniel. 2014. “Female Hurricanes Are Not Deadlier than Male Hurricanes.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (34). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411428111.