WMO naming listsSource: NHC

2026 Hurricane NamesWho's next on the list

Active nowAlready used in 2026Not yet used

The World Meteorological Organization picks the names years ahead and the NHC hands them out in order. The Atlantic list comes back every six years; names of truly deadly storms get retired, like jersey numbers, only with none of the honor.

Atlantic

8 of 21 used
  1. Arthur
  2. Bertha
  3. Cristobal
  4. Dolly
  5. Edouard
  6. Fay
  7. Gonzalo
  8. Hanna
  9. Isaias
  10. Josephine
  11. Kyle
  12. Leah
  13. Marco
  14. Nana
  15. Omar
  16. Paulette
  17. Rene
  18. Sally
  19. Teddy
  20. Vicky
  21. Wilfred

Next up: Isaias. The next storm to earn a name in this basin gets it.

Eastern Pacific

17 of 24 used
  1. Amanda
  2. Boris
  3. Cristina
  4. Douglas
  5. Elida
  6. Fausto
  7. Genevieve
  8. Hernan
  9. Iselle
  10. Julio
  11. Karina
  12. Lowell
  13. Marie
  14. Norbert
  15. Odalys
  16. Polo
  17. Rachel
  18. Simon
  19. Trudy
  20. Vance
  21. Winnie
  22. Xavier
  23. Yolanda
  24. Zeke

Next up: Simon. The next storm to earn a name in this basin gets it.

Central Pacific (list 1, in use)

8 of 12 used
  1. Akoni
  2. Ema
  3. Hone
  4. Iona
  5. Keli
  6. Lala
  7. Moke
  8. Nolo
  9. Olana
  10. Pena
  11. Ulana
  12. Wale

Next up: Olana. The next storm to earn a name in this basin gets it.

How storm names work

Names are handed out in order, not picked. When a system becomes a tropical storm (39 mph), the NHC gives it the next name on that basin’s list. Depressions only get a number, like Nineteen-E.

The Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists rotate every six years. The 2026 lists come back in 2032, minus any name retired in the meantime.

Retirement is for the worst storms. If a hurricane is so deadly or costly that reusing its name would be insensitive, a WMO committee retires it and picks a replacement starting with the same letter.

The Central Pacific works differently. Its Hawaiian names run through four lists in a row, without starting over each year, so a season can begin anywhere in the list.

Running out is possible. If a busy season uses every name, the WMO switches to a supplemental list rather than the Greek alphabet, which it dropped after 2020.

"Already used" is inferred from the latest name assigned in each basin. Source: National Hurricane Center.