Why Are Hurricanes Given Names

Hurricanes get names simply because it’s easier for everyone to follow them. Before 1950, hurricanes were named according to their latitude and longitude. But this was confusing because storms move around a lot. The system we use today was adopted in 1979, where male and female names are alternated and significant storms (like Hugo) have their name retired.

The complete history of naming hurricanes is at this NOAA site:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml