Most named storms in a single year (Pacific)

Storm events are grouped into four broad categories based on their wind speed: easterly wave, tropical depression, tropical storm and, depending on the location, the most extreme examples are known as hurricanes (Atlantic Ocean), typhoons (West Pacific Ocean) or cyclones (Indian Ocean). Storms are given a name once they reach the status of tropical storm, i.e., sustained winds of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) or higher – a convention that arose in the 1950s in order to simplify communication and to make it easier for the public to understand weather warnings. The most named storms to occur in a single calendar year in the Pacific is 39, recorded in the West Pacific Basin in 1964; of these, 26 developed into typhoons (also an annual record). The first named storm of the year was Typhoon Tess (14–22 May) and the last was Typhoon Opal (9–16 Dec).

There were also five tropical depressions logged that year in the same region. The two most intense of the 39 named storms were Sally (3–10 Sep) and Opal (9–16 Dec), both of which recorded maximum sustained surface winds of 170 knots (314.8 km/h; 195.6 mph), which means they would now classify as "super-typhoons". Opal was also the largest of the typhoons in size with a cyclonic radius of 650 mi (1,046 km) at its peak.

The next most prolific years in the Pacific were 1994 and 1996, each with 36 named storms, with 20 and 21, respectively, of those being designated typhoon-level events.

By comparison, the most named storms logged in the Atlantic Basin in a calendar year is 30 in 2020, starting with Tropical Storm Arthur (16–19 May) and ending with Major Hurricane Iota (13–18 Nov).

It's worth noting that prior to the proliferation of geostationary weather satellites in the 1960s–80s, many tropical cyclones out at sea would not have been documented.

The letters Q, U, X, Y, Z are generally not used owing to a lack of names that start with those letters. If the number of storms in a year exceeds 21, the modern practice is to start naming storms after letters of the Greek alphabet. Initially, all storms were given female names (perhaps following maritime tradition), but after this convention came under fire for reinforcing sexist stereotypes, the World Meteorological Organization revised this policy in 1979 and began to alternate between male and female names.