Dennis!

[Scarlett]

How do hurricanes end up with the names they get? Who chooses them??!

[brachiopod]

Each 'hurricane season' they start at A for the first storm of the season (which is usually small) and name them A, B, C, D ,etc... after that. They take alternate male and female names each year, and apparently, there is a 'set list' of respective girls and boys names that is decided on before each season (so that no names are repeated too frequently)

I'm sure if you Google 'Hurricane Names' you should find a site that explains how it's done.

[gen2]

The following information is from this site:

The names in use this year are/will be:

Arlene  Bret  Cindy  Dennis  Emily  Franklin  Gert  Harvey  Irene  Jose  Katrina  Lee  Maria  Nate  Ophelia  Philippe  Rita  Stan  Tammy  Vince  Wilma

For every year, there is a pre-approved list of names for tropical storms and hurricanes. These lists have been generated by the National Hurricane Center since 1953. At first, the lists consisted of only female names; however, since 1979, the lists alternate between male and female.

Hurricanes are named alphabetically from the list in chronological order. Thus the first tropical storm or hurricane of the year has a name that begins with "A" and the second is given the name that begins with "B." The lists contain names that begin from A to W, but exclude names that begin with a "Q" or "U."

There are six lists that continue to rotate.

Usually, the six lists of names for tropical storms and hurricanes repeat every six years. However, if there is an unusually damaging hurricane, the name is retired because using it again could be considered insensitive. The name is then not used for at least ten years. Here is a list of names that have been retired.

(continued below)

[gen2]

(continued from above)

Agnes (1972)  Alicia (1983)  Allen (1980)  Allison (2001)  Andrew (1992)  Anita (1977)  Audrey (1957)  Betsy (1965)  Beulah (1967)  Bob (1991)  Camille (1969)  Carla (1961)  Carmen (1974)  Carol (1954)  Celia (1970)  Cesar (1996)  Charley (2004)  Cleo (1964)  Connie (1955)  David (1979)  Diana (1990)  Diane (1955)  Donna (1960)  Dora (1964)  Edna (1968)  Elena (1985)  Eloise (1975)  Fabian (2003)  Fifi (1974)  Flora (1963)  Floyd (1999)  Fran (1996)   Frances (2004)   Frederic (1979)  Georges (1998)  Gilbert (1988)  Gloria (1985)  Hattie (1961)  Hazel (1954)  Hilda (1964)  Hortense (1996)  Hugo (1989)  Inez (1966)  Ione (1955)  Iris (2001)  Isabel (2003)  Isidore (2002)  Ivan (2004)  Janet (1955)  Jeanne (2004)  Joan (1988)  Juan (2003)  Keith (2000)  Klaus (1990)  Lenny (1999)  Lili (2002)  Luis (1995)  Marilyn (1995)  Michelle (2001)  Mitch (1998)  Opal (1995)  Roxanne (1995)

[Sammy Snake]

Only got to wait till 2009 for my namesake - Hurricane Sam! - that site is really interesting btw.

[morg_monster]

If you are really excited by this you should have a look at this site which has names for all the other regions in the world.  I get a hurricane in the eastern north pacific in 2008! (now you have to guess my name...!!)

Love Norbert

[acw]

Note also that it alternates between "boy" and "girl" names.   At risk of repeating SOME of the info above, here's what's written on this website:
 
"Military weather forecasters began giving women's names to significant storms during WWII, then in 1950 the World Meteorological Organization agreed to an alphabetical naming system, using the military's radio code. The first named Atlantic hurricane was Able in 1950.

Officials soon realized the naming convention would cause problems in the history books if more than one powerful Hurricane Able made landfall. So, in 1953 the organization adopted a rotating series of women's names, planning to retire names of significant storms.

Feminists urged the WMO to add men's names, which was done in 1979. The boy-girl-boy-girl naming convention evolved to include French and Spanish names in the Atlantic system, reflecting the languages of the nations affected by Carribean hurricanes. "

[willow27]

its whoever discovers the hurricanes it then gets named after that person