It was announced today that the weatherfront set to batter the UK on Friday, January 25, has been named Storm Éowyn. While most people will be concerned with the disruption it will cause, others have queried where the name comes from.
In August 2024, the Met Office, in collaboration with Met Éireann and KNMI, unveiled the list of names for storms in the 2024/25 season, featuring three historic names from the Met Office’s 170-year legacy.
The three historic names, James, Lewis, and Mavis, honor significant figures in meteorological history. James is named after Group Captain James Stagg, whose crucial D-Day forecast played a pivotal role in World War II.
Lewis is dedicated to Lewis Fry Richardson, who developed a groundbreaking theory for weather forecasting using mathematics and computers. And Mavis honors Mavis Hinds, a trailblazer in the early development of the Met Office’s computing systems.
Storms are named when they are expected to cause “medium” or “high” impacts in the UK, Ireland, or the Netherlands. While wind remains the primary factor for naming a storm, additional effects from rain or snow will also be taken into account.
Met Office’s tradition of naming storms began in 2015, and the list of names spans from early September to late August the following year, aligning with the shift from summer to autumn, when the risk of low-pressure systems and the potential for named storms typically increases.
Here is the entire list of names released by the Met Office for the 2024/25 storm season:
- Ashley
- Bert
- Conall
- Darragh
- Éowyn
- Floris
- Gerben
- Hugo
- Izzy
- James
- Kayleigh
- Lewis
- Mavis
- Naoise
- Otje
- Poppy
- Rafi
- Sayuri
- Tilly
- Vivienne
- Wren
There are no names for the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z to maintain consistency for official storm naming in the North Atlantic.
How to pronounce Darragh, Éowyn, Gerben, Naoise, Otje and Sayuri
Darragh
Darragh, an Irish name meaning “oak tree” or in some variations “wealthy,” is pronounced ‘Da-ra’, with emphasis on the first syllable and a short, hard ‘a’ (as in ‘bat,’ not ‘car’) in the second.
Éowyn
This name is either Anglo-Saxon (meaning “friend of horses”) or Welsh (meaning “God is gracious”). It’s pronounced ‘Ay-oh-win’. It’s a girls’ name, and a famous Lord of the Rings character shares it. Some believe JRR Tolkien invented the name, but this is not true.
Gerben
For something more Dutch, there’s Gerben, meaning “Spear Bear.” The Met Office weighs in, pronouncing it as ‘Ger-ben.’
Naoise
An Irish girls’ name, meaning “bright” or “radiant,” though it has often been used for males in reference to a mythical warrior. It’s pronounced ‘Nee-sha’.
Otje
A Dutch girls’ name, the pronunciation of Otje is ‘O-t-jh-eh’, according to the Met Office.
Sayuri
Finally, Sayuri, a lovely Japanese name, is pronounced ‘Sah-yoo-ree,’ according to the Met Office.
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