Hurricane names

Not every name can become a hurricane. The World Meteorological Organization favors names that are short, easy to pronounce, distinctive and free of controversy so they’re clear in emergencies. Type a name to see how it stacks up against the same criteria used to build official storm lists.

Name evaluation results showing which World Meteorological Organization criteria the name passes or fails
Timeline of retired Atlantic hurricane names from the 1950s through 1970s when storms were exclusively given women's names

A winding timeline traces retired Atlantic storm names from the 1950s through the 1970s, when hurricanes were exclusively given women’s names.