The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an international weather group, decides what names will be used. The WMO makes lists of names using the English alphabet. Each name on the list starts with a different letter. The first hurricane of the year gets the first name on that year's list. The second hurricane gets the next name. For examples, if the first hurricane is named Abel, the second might be named Betty. The name lists do include names beginning with the letters Q, U, X. Y and Z. There aren't many names that begin with these letters.
Asian countries use a different list, which is made up by the WMO's Typhoon Committee. This list has a few personal names, but most of the names are of flowers, animals, trees, and other similar things.