Have you ever wondered who gives names to the devastating storms that hit various coastlines almost every year? Floyd, Allison, Irene, Sandy—where do these names come from, and who assigns them?
Let's start with the fact that not all countries and regions name storms. Tropical storms in the northern part of the Indian Ocean often remain unnamed, and in Japan, hurricanes are sometimes named after animals or flowers. Most commonly, we hear about hurricane names from American meteorologists who forecast storms along the U.S. coastline.
For a long time, they also dealt with unnamed hurricanes. However, working with nameless storms (as with other unnamed objects) is always more difficult than when they have designated names. Hurricanes started receiving names mainly for convenience. Several storms can rage at the same time, and without distinct names, it would be difficult for the public and government officials to understand which storm meteorologists are warning about—whether it's one they need to prepare for or one that will pass by. Before hurricanes had names, they were typically referred to by the location where they caused the most damage or made the greatest impact.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, meteorologists started naming storms with human names—originally only female names, later adding male names as well. Initially, storms were given female names due to the "explosive and destructive" nature often attributed to women. Today, male and female names alternate in usage. However, not every tropical wind receives a name; this happens only when its speed exceeds 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph).
The naming of storms is managed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and their website lists all potential names. Since there are multiple regions where tropical storms occur, each has its own list of names. For example, in the Atlantic Ocean, there are six rotating lists, each containing 21 names, used over a six-year cycle. This means that the list of hurricane names for 2025 will be the same as in 2019. If more than 21 hurricanes occur in a single season, names from the Greek alphabet are used.
The most destructive hurricanes—those that go down in history for negative reasons—are typically used only once. After such a hurricane, its name is retired from the list and replaced with a new one.
