Has the name Ike been retired?
Yes. Ike is on NHC’s list of retired Atlantic names because of the 2008 storm. It is one of 100 names retired there since 1954 (Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names).
A name is retired when a storm was so deadly or costly that using the name again would be insensitive; the World Meteorological Organization then picks a new name with the same first letter at its annual meeting.
When will Ike be used again?
It won’t be. Retired names are not used again on the Atlantic lists. Its place on the list, the I slot, now belongs to Isaias, on the 2026 Atlantic list, which is the list in use this year.
Why was the storm named Ike?
Names go in alphabetical order, one per storm, as each storm reaches tropical-storm strength (39 mph, 34 knots), so a storm’s place in its season decides its name.
In 2008, Ike was the 9th name used in the Atlantic season.
Ike in other oceans
Storms named Ike appear in more than one ocean in our archive:
- Atlantic: 2008
- West Pacific: 1981 and 1984
Each ocean region keeps its own name lists, drawn up by its own WMO regional committee (Tropical cyclone naming), so the same name can be given to unrelated storms in different oceans.