Hello to all the posters on this board.
I just found this board through Google while trying to find information on what the names replaced from 2007 were, if any.
I don't have a particular interest in meteorology, but I am the immediate past president of the American Name Society and my area of expertise is given names and their use. So I am very interested in the process of naming hurricanes. It's been interesting to see you meteorology buffs discussing the issue.
I have been a bit mystified in the past as to how the WMO people come up with replacement names. I was particularly amazed when they replaced Katrina and Rita with Katia and Rina. Why would they choose two names so similar to the ones they just replaced, it one of the points of replacement is to remove names which have connotations of overwhelming particular disasters? Both Katia and Rina are shortened forms of Katrina! It looks to me like there wasn't much thought put into the replacement names at all, but that someone just came up with the first other name that sprang to mind by quick association with the original name. That seems unfortunate, especially since there were plenty of other names starting with K or R to choose instead.
I also think that modern cross-cultural influence on given names is quickly making very problematical the rule that names should be "English, French, or Spanish". There are names on the lists already that did not originate in either England, France, or Spain. Gustav on the 2008 list, for instance: This is certainly not a traditional English name, and the French and Spanish forms would be Gustave and Gustavo. And parents in all these cultures today are quick to adopt names from other cultures, or newly created names that have no history in a particular language. Within the past decade, for example, the most popular baby names in France have included Kevin, Matteo, Enzo, Oceane, Laura, and Maeva, none of which were originally French language names. Maeva is Tahitian, and Oceane is a new invention. Among the most popular names in Spanish speaking Latin America recently have been Axel, Giovanni, Omar, Yahir, Anahi, Astrid, Daisy, Lizbeth, and Vanessa. And of course the USA and Canada have all sorts of common names that aren't really "English".
As a name expert I can certainly agree that it would be possible to come up with 26 new names every year, especially if the meteorologists would consult with the onomasticians like myself on finding them. And there are certainly name experts in other countries besides the USA who could help.
If the replacement for Dean is Dorian, that's a better choice than Katia or Rina were, though it's still a bit too close to Dean for my liking. I would have suggested Darryl or Diego myself -- or, if a "French" name was needed, Dylan would actually have worked as well as Dorian as it's been quite popular with French parents lately, even though it originated in Wales. (Derek would indeed be a great name for the lists in the abstract, but unfortunately I don't think it would be wise to use it on the Atlantic 2013 list because the Eastern Pacific 2013 list includes the way-too-similar-sounding Erick.)
Thanks a lot for letting me contribute to your discussion.
Cleve Evans
In which retirement of them is part of it.. This is a board to do just that. It really makes no sense to stop that discussion. Thank you.
