Up until 1950, hurricane names had no rhythm or method. They were often names based off of the location or year of their occurrence, like the Miami Hurricane of 1926 or the Sea Islands Hurricane in 1893, and only the largest, most destructive storms were given names. In 1950, naming the storms began, and they were taken from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet.
The first hurricane season with this new naming rule saw storms like Hurricane Love and Hurricane Dog. For two more years, this naming system carried on, until it was decided that reusing the same list of names each year would cause problems and confusion. After all, there was a Hurricane Able in 1950, 1951, and 1952. Finally, in 1953, the United States National Hurricane Center decided to start using female names, explaining that this would cause less confusion.
This concept of naming storms after humans made it easier to spread awareness and helped capture the attention of the general public. It gave them something to associate with the incoming storm. The names of these storms often came from the names of forecasters’ wives, until men’s names were added to the list of possibilities in 1979. Now, there are six master lists that are rotated annually, meaning that names of storms repeat every six years. The names alternate between male and female and vary based on region.
Names of storms that result in extreme devastation or loss of lives are generally retired as a way to honor the victims and dissociate painful memories. Such storms include Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and Hurricane Andrew. Seventy-eight names of Atlantic hurricanes have been retired since 1954.