Retirement Surprises

[fasterdisaster]

They could do Ishmael, but that might be too close anyways.

I really like the sound of Hurricane Icarus though. Ichabod is probably the only name on that list before it starts getting either obscure or into mythology, maybe Inigo would work too. I think they're going to eventually, before the end of our lifetimes, start 'unretiring' some names.

At this point I see no reason for them to "unretire" names. What is an "obscure" name varies by culture and generation. Neither Irving nor Ira would be thought unusual at all by most people over 50 in the USA. Ichabod only is "unobscure" to Americans because of the fictional character of Ichabod Crane. It would be very obscure in Latin America. Many of the names on the above list which seem obscure to you are not necessarily so in Latin America. And in modern times given names for humans in English, French, and Spanish speaking cultures are becoming more varied all the time. Ian would have seemed very obscure to most people in the USA a couple of generations ago, but now we are all familiar with it.

I know that, I apologize if it seemed like I was being disrespectful, after all Inigo is of Spanish origin. I missed Iago, that would work too, and this will sound stupid but for some reason I completely forgot Ira was a name I had heard before. It's true that there could be a few names that are coined before we run out of ideal ones but if a couple more I storms are retired before then we'll either have to put one back in circulation or use something fairly obscure or mythological.

Again, I have absolutely NOTHING against obscure names, unless they're of ridiculous nonsensical origin and none of the names you posted are. I have a pretty obscure name myself, but I think that for something like a hurricane the name should be easy to remember and fairly easy to pronounce. (with the exception of French and Spanish names us silly Americans can't pronounce, because that would be our problem and we'd just deal with it) I think the WMO has been pretty compliant with keeping names at least in a fairly conventional (and again, if your name is unconventional, by no means is that 'bad') manner so people can remember them. Something like Ichabod or Irv or Iago would be fine because it's easy once you hear it to phonetically reproduce it but something Iorweth or Ildefonso wouldn't be that ideal because they would be hard to remember and somewhat hard to phonetically reproduce for some.

Also, I think Ian would be a fine name but I don't think they should use it as it's only one letter from Ivan. Then again they replaced 'Rita' with 'Rina'

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

I say bring back Isidore to replace Ike. That is just my option. I'm saying this because I don't believe it should of been retired.

[Derek Ortt]

I say bring back Isidore to replace Ike. That is just my option. I'm saying this because I don't believe it should of been retired.

do a little research on Isidore, Matt. If leveling a large city is not enough for retirement, then I do not know what is Matt

IT WAS REQUESTED BY MEXICO

[somethingfunny]

Hurricane Icky?

[HurricaneBelle]

Of course in future years they could simply skip the letter "I". It's not as if all letters are represented anyway, otherwise we'd have seen a Hurricane Quincy or Hurricane Xavier or Hurricane Ulysses.

[Deputy Van Halen]

Speaking of retirement, since it appears that Ike is a lock for retirement, and Ike itself replaced the retired Isidore, what's going to be the replacement male "I" name for 2014? The pickings are slim.

Igor (2010) and Isaac (2012) are the others in the rotation, and Irwin and Ignacio are being used in the EPac, so what does that leave? Ian? Irving? Isaiah? Ismael? Inigo (the Princess Bride hurricane)?

I'm sure punk rock fans will be rooting for Iggy.

According to the census, the most common male I-names in the U.S. that haven't been retired and aren't currently in use (in either Atlantic or E-Pac) are:

1. Ian
2. Ira
3. Irving
4. Irvin
5. Isaiah
6. Issac (sic)
7. Isidro
8. Isiah
9. Ivory
10. Isaias

Since Ike isn't a Spanish name, I suppose they wouldn't replace it with a Spanish name.

I'm guessing it will be either Ian or Irving. Ira is too similiar to Ida, which comes next year. They should save Isaiah to replace Isaac (both of them being Old Testament names).

[Ad Novoxium]

Ivory....a MALE name?

[fasterdisaster]

The three they're probably most likely to pick are Isaiah, Ichabod, and Irving. I'd say Ian in place of Irving but it might be too close to Ivan.

[Category 5]

I say bring back Isidore to replace Ike. That is just my option. I'm saying this because I don't believe it should of been retired.

Why not? Because the worst damage was outside the U.S?

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

category5, a real city is worth a hell of a lot more then 900 million dollars. So it is likely a town that was flaten to the ground. We would have to retire every hurricane that hits in causes great amounts of damage to "towns". Any ways, I would be happy if some one would post a link to this town(city) in question.

I feel that retirement should be for a wide area of damage.

Hugo, Andrew, Ivan, Katrina, Camile, Ike, Dennis, Rita, Charley, Frances, Jeanne, to name a few.

[HurricaneRobert]

The best cyclone name I've seen was Innocente. Since they come up with 22 new names each year, I think we can have it.

[Category 5]

category5, a real city is worth a hell of a lot more then 900 million dollars.

Matt, you're forgetting this is Mexico. And I don't think a city is defined by how much money it's worth.

[Cleveland Kent Evans]

Ivory....a MALE name?

Yes, it was probably much more male than female until recently.

It's one of many names like Ashley, Shirley, Beverly, Leslie, Dana, etc. that started out as mostly male which have turned mostly female over the years.

34 of the first 50 Ivorys in the 1930 US Census records on Ancestry.com are male.

[Cleveland Kent Evans]

The three they're probably most likely to pick are Isaiah, Ichabod, and Irving. I'd say Ian in place of Irving but it might be too close to Ivan.

I don't think Ian is as close to Ivan as Katia and Rina are to Katrina and Rita. It may look similar, but I think the pronunciation, at least in English, is different enough that there would be little confusion.

[Ptarmigan]

No, the WMO did NOT deny the retirement request

Gordon was NEVER requested to be retired

Haiti was undergoing some transition at the time when Gordon hit in 1994.

[Ptarmigan]

I believe Mexico requested retirement of Isidore because of the devastation it caused in Merida

Isidore also made landfall as a major hurricane on the northern shores of Yucatan Peninsula, which has never happened in recorded history.

[Ad Novoxium]

Ivory....a MALE name?

Yes, it was probably much more male than female until recently.

It's one of many names like Ashley, Shirley, Beverly, Leslie, Dana, etc. that started out as mostly male which have turned mostly female over the years.

34 of the first 50 Ivorys in the 1930 US Census records on Ancestry.com are male.

Just wondering, are there any opposite crossovers (names normally associated with females until recently?) Also, of those, I can see Ashley as being male for a time. It seems more like a unisex name rather than a one gender or the other.

[HurricaneBill]

Just wondering, are there any opposite crossovers (names normally associated with females until recently?) Also, of those, I can see Ashley as being male for a time. It seems more like a unisex name rather than a one gender or the other.

I believe Christian started out as a female name, but now is usually considered a male name.

Lee is a definite unisex name. Started as a boy's name and then became popular with girls. Despite this, it still gets used as a boy's name as well.

[Category 5]

This is why Isidore was retired

Hurricane Isidore hit near Mérida, Yucatán, as a 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) hurricane, and remained over the area for around 36 hours. Over 30 inches (760 mm) of rainfall fell, with the maximum recorded near Campeche.[3] The storm surge reached as high as 6 metres (20 ft) over southern portions of Yucatán state. Nearly one-third of all fishing vessels were damaged by Isidore.[21] Nearly 36,500 houses were destroyed in Yucatán from the intense winds,[21] 83,000 homes damaged, and 500,000 were left homeless.[19] Downed trees and power lines were common over much of the northern Yucatán Peninsula,[22] and 75% of barns and warehouses were either severely damage or destroyed. Damage to crops and livestock was extreme; 2,000 square kilometres of maize and 400 square kilometres of fruit trees were damaged across the country.[23] A total of 70% of the poultry production and livestock were lost during the storm in Yucatán. Damage to Mexico's power grid reached US$19.76 million. Over one-fourth of the roads across the peninsula were moderately or severely damaged, which resulted in losses of US$9.88 million to rural areas.[19] Farming in Campeche experienced significant damage, with 30,000 cattle and 100,000 acres (400 km²) of agricultural land lost.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Ok, I know the monetary damage will be significant in the US, and Ike made me miss The Ohio State University get humiliated on national TV, and what I'm told is an all time classic Monday Night Football game with my Cowboys, but the death toll is fairly low, and Ike was only a Cat 2.

I could live with another Ike in six years if it doesn't hit my part of the world.