What's In A (Storm) Name?

The 2011 list is out and our very own Nate made the cut.

Granted, I'm sure Nate has no interest in having a horrible hurricane or terrible tropical storm bearing his moniker burned into our collective memory, but so it goes.

And much like a cyclone, what goes around, comes around -- the Atlantic is assigned six lists of names, with one list used each year. Every sixth year, the first list begins again. That means I'll get a Lisa (spelled incorrectly, of course) in 2016.

Some random facts:

• The letters "Q", "U", "X", "Y" and "Z" are not used.
• When an unusually destructive hurricane hits, that hurricane's name is retired and never used again.
• Before 1978, hurricanes were solely named after women (more history here!)

So did your name make the cut for 2011? If not, scroll down to check out the lists from other parts of the world.

Photo credit: NASA