Retired Hurricane Names

Updated August 31, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

When hurricanes are particularly destructive, their names are retired from the list of usable names. Any country affected by a particularly terrible storm can request that the name be retired by petitioning the World Meteorological Organization. A retired name cannot be reused for at least ten years, to facilitate historic references, legal actions, insurance claim activities, and to avoid public confusion with another storm of the same name. Below is a list of infamous hurricanes that have settled into retirement.

Name	Year	Location(s) affected
Agnes	1972	Florida, Northeast U.S.
Alicia	1983	North Texas
Allen	1980	Antilles, Mexico, South Texas
Allison	2001	Texas
Alma	2008	Nicaragua
Andrew	1992	Bahamas, South Florida, and Louisiana
Anita	1977	Mexico
Audrey	1957	Louisiana, North Texas
Betsy	1965	Bahamas, Southeast Florida, Southeast Louisiana
Beulah	1967	Antilles, Mexico, South Texas
Bob	1991	North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Camille	1969	Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
Carla	1961	Texas
Carmen	1974	Mexico
Carol	1954	Northeast U.S.
Celia	1970	South Texas
Charley	2004	Florida, Cuba, Jamaica, South Carolina
Cleo	1964	Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Cuba, Southeast Florida
Connie	1955	North Carolina
David	1979	Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Florida, and Eastern U.S.
Dennis	2005	Cuba, Florida
Diana	1990	Mexico
Diane	1955	Mid-Atlantic U.S. and Northeast U.S.
Donna	1960	Bahamas, Florida, and Eastern U.S.
Dora	1964	Northeast Florida
Edna	1954	North Carolina, Massachusetts, Maine
Elena	1985	Mississippi, Alabama, Western Florida
Eloise	1975	Antilles, Northwest Florida, Alabama
Fabian	2003	Bermuda
Fifi	1974	Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Mexico
Flora	1963	Haiti, Cuba
Florence	2018	Eastern United States
Floyd	1999	North Carolina, eastern seaboard
Fran	1996	North Carolina, eastern seaboard
Frances	2004	Caribbean, Florida, eastern United States
Frederic	1979	Alabama and Mississippi
Georges	1998	Antilles, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi
Gilbert	1988	Lesser Antilles, Jamaica, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Gloria	1985	North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Gustav	2008	Haiti, Cuba, Louisiana
Harvey	2017	Texas, Louisiana
Hattie	1961	Belize, Guatemala
Hazel	1954	Antilles, North and South Carolina
Hilda	1964	Louisiana
Hortense	1996	Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic
Hugo	1989	Antilles, South Carolina
Erika	2015	Lesser Antilles, Hispaniola
Igor	2010	Newfoundland
Ike	2008	Haiti, Cuba, Texas
Inez	1966	Lesser Antilles, Hispanola, Cuba, Florida Keys, Mexico
Ingrid	2013	Mexico
Ione	1955	North Carolina
Irene	2011	Hispaniola, Bahamas, U.S. East Coast
Iris	2001	Belize
Irma	2017	Caribbean, Southeastern United States
Isabel	2003	North Carolina, Northeast U.S.
Isidore	2002	Western Cuba, Yucatan, Louisiana
Ivan	2004	Windward Islands, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama
Janet	1955	Lesser Antilles, Belize, Mexico
Jeanne	2004	Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida
Joan	1988	Curacao, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua (crossed into Pacific and became Miriam)
Joaquin	2015	Bahamas, Bermuda
Juan	2003	Nova Scotia
Katrina	2005	Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana
Keith	2000	Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico
Klaus	1990	Martinique
Lenny	1999	Antilles
Lili	2002	Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Louisiana
Luis	1995	Lesser Antilles
Maria	2017	Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico
Marilyn	1995	Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico
Matthew	2016	Caribbean, Southeastern United States
Michael	2018	Central America, United States Gulf Coast
Michelle	2001	Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cuba
Mitch	1998	Central America, Nicaragua, Honduras
Nate	2017	Central America, United States Gulf Coast
Opal	1995	Central America, Mexico, Florida
Otto	2016	Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Paloma	2008	Cuba
Rita	2005	Louisiana, Texas
Roxanne	1995	Mexico
Sandy	2012	Caribbean, Bahamas, United States East Coast, Eastern Canada
Stan	2005	Mexico, Central America
Tomas	2010	Winward Islands, Haiti
Wilma	2005	Yucatan, Florida