Most popular baby names shared by hurricanes

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #3,427 (32 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Gustav (2008; cost $7.3 billion in damages)

Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 29, 2008, and made landfall on the coast of Louisiana two days later. The storm hit Louisiana, southern Alabama, and the Florida panhandle with intense rain and wind. It caused over 100 deaths in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Gustav was retired as a hurricane name after this storm.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #3,900 (37 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Becky (1970; cost $3 million in damages)

Becky is a diminutive version of Rebecca, which comes from a Hebrew name meaning “join, tie, snare.” 1970’s Tropical Storm Becky snared cars and homes throughout the Florida panhandle; the St. Petersburg Times reported knee-deep water around the county courthouse.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,621 (100 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Charley (2004; cost $22.2 billion in damages)

The name Charley was retired as a hurricane title after 2004, when Hurricane Charley tore through Florida’s west coast with winds of 145 miles per hour. The New York Times called this hurricane “the worst on the west coast of Florida in at least a century;” nearly 2 million people were evacuated, and over 300,000 buildings were damaged.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,467 (117 babies born)
- Name shared by: 5 hurricanes
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Humberto (2007; cost $62 million in damages)

Three Texas counties were declared as disaster areas after Hurricane Humberto knocked out buildings and power lines in September 2007, while rains also impacted Louisiana, Georgia, and other East Coast states. Humberto is still in use as a hurricane name, and in fact was recently given to a Category 3 storm this past fall—that Hurricane Humberto hit Bermuda, leaving over 27,000 people out of power.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,459 (118 babies born)
- Name shared by: 1 hurricane, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Henri (2003; cost $27 million in damages)

In September 2003, the west coast of Florida was already saturated from a summer of heavy rain when Tropical Storm Henri hit. The storm caused $15 million in flooding damage in Florida alone and proceeded up the coast as far as Delaware.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,283 (142 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Karl (2010; cost $4.6 billion in damages)

Karl is the German and Scandanavian form of the name Charles, which may be derived from the Germanic root “hari” meaning army or warrior, and was popularized by Charlemagne and other Holy Roman Emperors. It’s a fitting name for storms the like of 2010’s Hurricane Karl, which knocked out electricity for almost half a million people in Mexico and caused widespread evacuations.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,011 (255 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Brenda (1973; damages data not available)

Hurricane Brenda (1973) was the first hurricane on record to hit the southeast coast of Campeche Bay, along Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The storm destroyed thousands of homes in Tabasco and Carmen and heightened damage already done by a summer of heavy rains.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #823 (269 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Gordon (1994; cost $1.0 billion in damages)

Although it never fully made landfall as a hurricane, Hurricane Gordon (1994) caused flooding and mudslides leading to over 500 deaths in Haiti, as well as loss of life in Florida; one man drowned off of Fort Lauderdale Beach while rescuing his young son from a rip current. The hurricane name is still in use, however, and was most recently given to a tropical storm that hit Florida in 2018.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #896 (298 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Erika (2015; cost $511.4 million in damages)

The name Erika was retired for hurricanes after 2015, when Tropical Storm Erika hit the Antilles, the Bahamas, and Florida. The storm caused flooding and brought down trees and powerlines, bringing devastating losses even though it was the first major rain event after a summer of drought for the northern Caribbean.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #645 (455 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Alma (1966; cost $1.7 billion in damages)

Hurricane Alma was the first tropical cyclone of the 1966 season by a long shot—it surfaced over Nicaragua and Honduras on June 4, and became the earliest hurricane to make landfall since a late-May–early-June storm in 1825. The storm hit Florida's agriculture hard, doing damage to the state's crops of mango, grapefruit, and tobacco; total damages cost over $1 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #556 (493 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Dennis (2005; cost $3.4 billion in damages)

The name Dennis was retired for hurricanes after Hurricane Dennis hit the Florida panhandle and southwest Alabama in 2005. This storm was the second tropical system in a week and the third in two months to threaten the southern U.S. in a busy season that would also include Hurricane Katrina.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #518 (599 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Edith (1971; cost $161 million in damages)

Hurricane Edith hit the Caribbean in September 1971, and was the only storm of that season to qualify as a major hurricane. The storm killed at least 28 people, including two fishermen who were lost at sea when Edith crossed passed over Aruba, and left almost 2,000 homeless.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #173 (2,241 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Dean (2007; cost $2.1 billion in damages)

After Hurricane Dean wreaked havoc across the Caribbean and U.S. coast in 2007, the name was retired for hurricanes. The 2007 storm was the first to make landfall while still at Category 5 intensity since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and it was responsible for deaths across 10 countries.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #91 (3,023 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Josephine (1996; cost $213 million in damages)

Josephine, a name derived as the feminine French form of Joseph, was also shared by the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Tropical Storm Josephine (1996) earned renown among meteorologists for its unusual path: the storm started in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico then moved east, instead of moving east to west like most storms.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #54 (4,145 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Anna (1961; cost $3 million in damages)

Damages from Hurricane Anna (1961) included 5,000 coconut trees on the island of Utila, the smallest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The name is still in use for hurricanes today, but has not been given to a major storm since 1976.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #89 (4,292 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Jose (2017; cost $3 million in damages)

In 2017, Jose was a long-lived storm that caused high wind gusts as far north as Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island. But damages were relatively light overall, including downed trees and power lines along the northeastern coast.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #24 (6,724 babies born)
- Name shared by: 1 hurricane, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Grace (1991; minimal damages)

The name Grace is derived from the Latin word “gratia,” and is associated with Puritan “virtue names” popularized in the 17th century. Hurricane Grace (1991), the only full hurricane to be given this name, did not do significant damage on its own but was absorbed into the “1991 Perfect Storm,” a nor’easter that moved up the coast and damaged seven states.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #15 (8,055 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Ella (1958; cost $2 million in damages)

Hurricane Ella hit the Caribbean in early September 1958, then moved to the Florida Keys and the coast of Texas. The storm dealt out its harshest damage in Cuba, where torrential rains caused several deaths and over $100,000 in property damage at the time.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #34 (8,417 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Isaac (2012; cost $3.1 billion in damages)

Isaac is derived from a Hebrew name (Yitzchaq) meaning “he will laugh, he will rejoice.” But residents of the eastern U.S. were not laughing or rejoicing when Hurricane Isaac hit in 2012, causing flash flooding in Mississippi, storm tides up to 6 feet in Alabama, and other damages. The name is still in use today.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: Not ranked (less than 5 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Gert (1993; cost $302 million in damages)

The name Gert, which is derived from the German name Gerard. Its meaning is "spear," "brave," and "hardy," and it has been out of America's most popular baby names for decades. But it's still in use for hurricanes. The largest storm to bear this name was a tropical cyclone that caused flooding and mudslides in Mexico and Central America in 1993.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #6,664 (12 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Edouard (1996; cost $33 million in damages)

Hurricane Edouard was the biggest storm of the 1996 Atlantic season. It maintained Category 3 or greater intensity for over a week and wreaked havoc up the American coast; two people were killed, and boats at Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket were damaged.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #5,588 (22 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Helene (1958; cost $101 million in damages)

The name Helene (an ancient Greek form of Helen) is best known from Greek mythology: Paris kidnapped Helen of Troy, leading to the Trojan War. Hurricane Helene (1958) was the most destructive storm of its season even though it didn’t make landfall; the storm caused rainfall as far north as Maine.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #601 (451 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Jerry (1989; cost $145 million in damages)

Hurricane Jerry terrorized Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi in October 1989. The Sunday Record-Journal reported that all residents of Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island were ordered to evacuate, as were thousands of workers on offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #637 (464 babies born)
- Name shared by: 5 hurricanes, 1 tropical storm
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Irene (2011; cost $15.7 billion in damages)

The name Irene is derived from the Greek “Ειρηνη” (Eirene), which comes from a word meaning “peace.” Perhaps fittingly, the name Irene is no longer used for hurricanes after 2011, when Hurricane Irene caused extensive flood and wind damage in the Caribbean, up America’s East Coast, and as far north as Canada.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #634 (468 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Karen (2001; cost $2 million in damages)

In October 2001, Hurricane Karen hit Bermuda. The storm damaged trees and powerlines across the island, knocking out power for over 20,000 people, and hit several cruise ships in St. George Harbor; luckily, no passengers or crew members were injured.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #539 (516 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Danny (1997; cost $160 million in damages)

Hurricane Danny was a slow-moving, Category 1 hurricane, but it was still the only storm to make landfall in the 1997 season. The storm caused devastating rainfall over southern Alabama; it was responsible for nine deaths, including four storm-related traffic accidents in Georgia.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #444 (677 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Harvey (2017; cost $130.0 billion in damages)

The name Harvey was retired for hurricanes after 2017. According to humanitarian organization World Vision, that year’s Hurricane Harvey was the first major (Category 3 or higher) hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. since 2005 and the first such storm to hit southern Texas since 1970. About 13 million people were impacted by the storm, and over 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #421 (735 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Erin (1995; cost $1.5 billion in damages)

Hurricane Erin hit the Bahamas, Jamaica, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi in August 1995. Casualties caused by the storm included three crew members of a 200-foot gambling and cruise ship, the Club Royale, which sank in the Atlantic east of Cape Canaveral.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #305 (1,084 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Gabrielle (2001; cost $333 million in damages)

Gabrielle is the French feminine form of Gabriel, which is derived from a Hebrew name meaning “God is my strong man.” Hurricane Gabrielle (2001), the largest storm to bear this name so far, caused major rivers to flood across western and central Florida and maintained enough power as it moved north to cause heavy rain in Newfoundland.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #229 (1,642 babies born)
- Name shared by: 1 hurricane, 5 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Arthur (2014; cost $31 million in damages)

The mythical knights of King Arthur's court swore to serve and protect their people, but the hurricanes bearing Arthur's name have no such allegiance. Still, Hurricane Arthur (2014), which broke records by making landfall in North Carolina, was the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland without causing any direct casualties since Hurricane Bret in 1999.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: Not ranked (less than 5 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Debby (2012; cost $280 million in damages)

The name Debby, a shortened form of Deborah (which comes from a Hebrew name meaning “bee”), has been unpopular since the 1960s. But the name hasn’t been retired for hurricanes yet; the most recent storm given this name was a tropical cyclone that passed north without hitting land in August 2018.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #10,471 (9 babies born)
- Name shared by: 1 hurricane, 6 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Beryl (2018; minimal damages)

Hurricane Beryl (2018) was notable for its early formation—it started forming with a large wave on July 2, and had surged into a tropical depression by July 4. The storm hit Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean, causing some brief power outages but no major damage or casualties.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #9,085 (11 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Claudette (2003; cost $253 million in damages)

Claudette is the French feminine form of Claudius, a Roman family name that may have been derived from the Latin word “claudus,” meaning “lame” or “crippled.” Perhaps Hurricane Claudette didn’t want to be crippled by such a name in 2003; this storm made landfall in July, early in the season, and damaged areas from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to coastal Texas.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #5,423 (23 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Chantal (1989; cost $207 million in damages)

Hurricane Chantal struck Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma in early August 1989. The storm damaged thousands of homes, and was responsible for 13 deaths, including 10 people in a lifeboat that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Morgan City, Louisiana.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #4,740 (28 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Bertha (1996; cost $548 million in damages)

Bertha is derived from Germanic names meaning "bright, famous." The 1996 season's Hurricane Bertha became famous as a July hurricane, the first storm to hit so early since 1926, and it became infamous as the storm left thousands of people without power, caused 12 casualties, and led to a $40 million deficit in the tourism industry in the American southeast.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #3,281 (34 babies born)
- Name shared by: 1 hurricane, 6 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Bret (1999; cost $23 million in damages)

Bret has a similar etymology to Bertha, but the one hurricane sharing this name was not nearly as destructive as Bertha. While Hurricane Bret (1999) sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, the storm turned west just before hitting Corpus Christi, Texas, and instead made landfall in a less densely populated county, limiting casualties and damages.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,662 (95 babies born)
- Name shared by: 5 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Earl (2016; cost $267 million in damages)

The name Earl is derived from the British aristocratic title, which harkens back to an Old English word meaning “nobleman.” Hurricane Earl (2016) was far from noble; the storm caused heavy rainfall, flooding, and dangerous storm surges in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, leading to over 80 casualties.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,207 (154 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Barry (2019; cost $600 million in damages)

Hurricane Barry, which hit the American Midwest and Southeast this past July, was notable for its origin: the storm started not in the tropics but with an intense low-pressure system over southwestern Kansas. Damages were mostly confined to Louisiana, including flooding in 11 parishes and over 300,000 people losing power.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #721 (328 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Ernesto (2006; cost $637 million in damages)

Ernesto, which is derived from the Germanic word “eornost” meaning “serious,” does not rank highly for baby name popularity but is taken seriously as a tropical storm title. Hurricane Ernesto (2006), one of two storms with this name to hit land, was responsible for five casualties in Haiti and two in Virginia, as the storm caused a tree to fall on a residence in Gloucester.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #691 (417 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Bonnie (1998; cost $1.6 billion in damages)

"My bonnie lies over the ocean," goes the traditional Scottish folk song. In 1998, Hurricane Bonnie did more than just lie over the ocean. This storm, which was the third hurricane to directly hit North Carolina in three years, caused power outages, structural damage, and crop damage, particularly in the popular tourist region Hampton Roads, Virginia.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #613 (437 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Chris (2018; minimal damages)

Chris, a popular diminutive name for Christopher and Christian, is derived from Greek names associated with anointing and Christ. While the name has been used for seven tropical cyclones in the Atlantic ocean, none have caused significant damage or casualties.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #606 (442 babies born)
- Name shared by: 2 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Alberto (1994; cost $1.7 billion in damages)

Tropical Storm Alberto was the first named storm of 1994—it drove extensive flooding across the florida panhandle, Alabama, and Georgia, causing a total of 78 counties to be declared federal disaster areas. Despite this damage and over 30 casualties, the name was not retired; it was most recently used for a tropical storm that hit the Gulf Coast in May 2018.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #382 (809 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 4 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Danielle (1998; cost $ million in damages)

Hurricane Danielle (1998) is the rare storm mentioned in this story that impacted both the U.S. and the U.K. While passing the British Isles on its journey north, the storm caused beach erosion and flash flooding; luckily, there were no casualties.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #215 (1,440 babies born)
- Name shared by: 7 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Tropical Storm Ana (2015; minimal damages)

While seven Atlantic storms have been named Ana, none have impacted land long enough to cause serious damage or casualties. Tropical Storm Ana (2015), the most recent storm to share this name, is notable as the earliest recorded tropical storm to make landfall in the U.S.; it hit near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on May 10.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #12 (8,656 babies born)
- Name shared by: 4 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Emily (2005; cost $1.3 billion in damages)

Emily is the English feminine form of Aemilius, a Roman name meaning "rival." The name is still in use for tropical storms even after Hurricane Emily (2005), the only Category 5 storm on record to form in July, which hit Grenada, Mexico, Texas, and other parts of the Caribbean.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #3,029 (53 babies born)
- Name shared by: 5 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Dolly (2008; cost $1.5 billion in damages)

The name Dolly, a short form of Dorothea, was popularized by famous American singer-songwriter/actress/force of nature Dolly Parton. As the NASA report for the 2008 hurricane of the same name points out, similar to Dolly Parton’s song “The River Unbroken,” New Mexico’s Ruidoso River was “unbroken and flooded” due to the storm. This hurricane brought severe flooding and caused hundreds to evacuate in southern New Mexico and Texas.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #445 (715 babies born)
- Name shared by: 6 hurricanes, 2 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Frances (2004; cost $13.6 billion in damages)

Frances was retired as a hurricane name after 2004, when that summer’s storm badly hit Florida and the Bahamas. Damages included space and military facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida—over $100 million in 2004 dollars.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,328 (169 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 6 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Cindy (2005; cost $421 million in damages)

Cindy, a short form of Cynthia, is derived from an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis. The name has been given to nine storms including 2005’s Hurricane Cindy, which made landfall along the southeastern coast of Louisiana and battered New Orleans with rain and wind.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #970 (269 babies born)
- Name shared by: 7 hurricanes, 3 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Florence (2018; cost $24.5 billion in damages)

Hurricane Florence (2018) was devastating as the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the Carolinas; the storm caused widespread power outages in North Carolina, a record-breaking storm surge of up to 13 feet, and more than 30 inches of rainfall in some locations. The name was retired for hurricanes after that year.

- Name popularity rank in 2018: #1,786 (113 babies born)
- Name shared by: 3 hurricanes, 8 tropical storms
- Biggest storm with this name: Hurricane Arlene (1963; cost $3 million in damages)

Eleven storms have been named Arlene since the current naming convention was instituted in 1953, the most recent of which was Tropical Storm Arlene (2017), the second storm on record to form in April. The name is a variation of Arleen, which may be derived from an old French name meaning "free man."