2025 Hurricane Names Have Been Announced & We Rated Them On A Scale Of 1-10
Some will sound familiar, but others are brand new.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November every year, and every storm event has a name. I always assumed these names were chosen on the fly, but it turns out they’re planned well in advance by a committee of the World Meteorological Organization, which released its list of names for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season... and we’re going to rank them because having opinions on names (hurricane names, pet names, baby names) is one of life’s simple pleasures.
Fun fact: they are repeated every six years, so a lot of these may sound familiar to those among us paying attention to storms. However, if a storm is particularly deadly or destructive, it will be retired and replaced with another of the same letter.
For example, in the past, this cycle of names would have included Dorian, but since Hurricane Dorian broke records in 2019, it’s been replaced.
Here are the storms we could see this year...
Andrea
5/10. It’s a fine name, but we’re not wowed.
Barry
7/10. Barry is your gruff neighbor with opinions on how you’re mowing your lawn, which feels like the grumpy attitude of a hurricane.
Chantal
10/10. No notes. Chantal feels like a hurricane name: she’s majestic, she’s powerful, and she’s a force of nature in every sense.
Dexter
9/10. Dexter is one of three new kids on the block on this list. We like it because of the association with the charming TV serial killer of the same name.
Erin
4/10. The Erins I’ve known have all written poetry and made their own overnight oats. Not very hurricane-y.
Ferdinand
8/10. This is a good, strong name, but loses hurricane name points for being associated with a pacifist bull, which feels antithetical to the vibe we’d expect.
Gabrielle
3/10. Too gentle for a hurricane. I would have gone for something like Griselda or Graziella.
Humberto
9/10. I hear “Humberto” and I think of a stone-faced muscle man. Great for a hurricane.
Imelda
9/10. We’re only docking a point because British actress Imelda Staunton is a literal angel, and we refuse to see her associated with anything so physically destructive. Otherwise, it’s great!
Jerry
0/10. Do better.
Karen
11/10. Like...
Lorenzo
8/10. It feels of the moment and up to the task.
Melissa
3/10. Maybe this would have had more heft in the ’70s and ’80s when this name was more popular, but right now it’s just not giving hurricane.
Nestor
9/10. Since Nestor is a character in The Iliad, it feels epic enough to be a hurricane.
Olga
10/10. Tell me an Olga wouldn’t go on a rampage through the Atlantic. Of course, she would. That’s what Olga does.
Pablo
5/10. Meh.
Rebekah
6/10. Also meh, but points for the sassy little “k” in there.
Sebastian
6/10. A perfect name, generally, but is it a perfect hurricane name? I just don’t think it is.
Tanya
10/10. Tanya will f*ck your shit up and never apologize.
Van
6/10. Fine but lacking gravitas. Van is a 13-year-old at the local skatepark who overstates his talents. Not a hurricane.
Wendy
7/10. Only because it sounds like “windy” and is therefore on theme.
And if there are more hurricanes than are covered by the names listed above? This is, after all, supposed to be a busier-than-usual storm season. Don’t worry! There’s a backup list that includes the following: Adria, Braylen, Caridad, Deshawn, Emery, Foster, Gemma, Heath, Isla, Jacobus, Kenzie, Lucio, Makayla, Nolan, Orlando, Pax, Ronin, Sophie, Tayshaun, Viviana, and Will.
Though let’s hope for the sake of the Caribbean and the East Coast in general that it doesn’t come to that.
