Tropical Cyclone Names

Introduction

This page provides a listing of 104 names that are used for tropical cyclones in the Australian Region.  There is a single list of names that are used by all of the Bureau of Meteorology Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWC). This single list was introduced for the start of the 2008/09 season, replacing the three lists that existed previously.

The name of a new tropical cyclone is usually selected from this list of names.  If a named cyclone moves into the Australian region from another country's zone of responsibility, the name assigned by that other country will be retained. The names are normally chosen in sequence, when the list is exhausted, we return to the start of the list.

Names

First name for the 2008-09 season is highlighted

	Australian Region Names
A	Anika	Anthony	Alessia	Alfred	Ann
B	Billy	Bianca	Bruce	Blanche	Blake
C	Charlotte	Carlos	Cathy	Caleb	Claudia
D	Dominic	Dianne	Dylan	Debbie	Damien
E	Ellie	Errol	Edna	Ernie	Esther
F	Freddy	Fina	Fletcher	Frances	Ferdinand
G	Gabrielle	Grant	Gillian	Greg	Gretel
H	Hamish	Heidi	Hadi	Hilda	Harold
I	Ilsa	Iggy	Ita	Ira	Imogen
J	Jasper	Jasmine	Jack	Joyce	Joshua
K	Kirrily	Koji	Kate	Kelvin	Kimi
L	Laurence	Lua	Lam	Linda	Lucas
M	Magda	Mitchell	Marcia	Marcus	Marian
N	Neville	Narelle	Nathan	Nora	Noah
O	Olga	Oswald	Olwyn	Owen	Odette
PQ	Paul	Peta	Quang	Penny	Paddy
R	Robyn	Rusty	Raquel	Riley	Ruby
S	Sean	Sandra	Stan	Savannah	Seth
T	Tasha	Tim	Tatjana	Trevor	Tiffany
UV	Vince	Victoria	Uriah	Veronica	Verdun
WXYZ	Zelia	Zane	Yvette	Wallace

* Cyclone names marked for replacement

US-based site with listings of names from regions elsewhere in the world.

Requests by the public for tropical cyclone names

The Bureau of Meteorology receives many requests from the public to name Tropical Cyclones after themselves, friends, etc. The Bureau is unable to grant all these requests as they far out-number the number of Tropical Cyclones that occur in the Australian region.
The Bureau will only accept requests received in writing (not e-mail). The request cannot be immediately granted but the name will be added to a supplementary list. When a name is retired of similar gender and initial, a name can be included from this supplementary list (subject to checks to ensure it is not on the Southern Hemisphere retired name list or offensive in any of the languages of our international neighbours.)
Note that it can take many decades for a suitable slot to become available, then a further 10-20 years for the names to cycle through, so it is likely to be well over 50 years before your requested name is allocated to a cyclone.

Tropical cyclone naming policy

• Tropical cyclone names in each list alternate male and female
• Names of cyclones that have already significantly affected the Australian region cannot be used again
• If two or more cyclones are occurring simultaneously, similar sounding names (eg June & Jane) are avoided to minimise confusion
• Names should not be capable of being construed to subject the Bureau to criticism or ridicule (eg naming a sequence of cyclones after politicians)
• Lists of names are coordinated with neighbouring meteorological services to avoid duplication

Notes

When a significant cyclone affects Australia (like TC Tracy in 1974 or TC Larry in 2006), the name is "retired" and replaced in the list with a name of similar initial and gender.

A name may be skipped if it is not deemed appropriate when it is due to be used (eg it is the same as the name of a public figure who is in the news for a sensitive or controversial reason)

A name may be skipped if a similarly named cyclone is active in the area.

Cyclones may not seem to follow alphabetical sequence as cyclones named in an adjoining area move into the Australian region.

Cyclones moving westwards across the Indian Ocean are usually renamed by the TCWC at La Reunion, when they move out of Australia's zone of responsibility. Otherwise cyclones retain their name throughout their existence.

Sometimes a decayed cyclone will re-generate (eg after crossing land) and will usually retain the name it had before it weakened.