BLAKE is the name to be given to the first tropical cyclone of the season.

Each year the Bureau of Meteorology collates a list of cyclone names which are assigned to tropical cyclones that form in the Australian area of responsibility based on public submissions.

Bureau forecaster Jess Gardner said during the late 19th Century cyclones were named by government meteorologist Clement Wragge, but today the public could submit name ideas for cyclones, although there might be a 10-year wait before a suggestion is used.

"Originally the guy that started it used to choose names ranging from mythological creatures to politicians who annoyed him," she said.

Ms Gardner said the number of cyclones expected to cross the coast this summer was below average.

"But it's worth noting our average for the east coast is four per year with one making landfall," she said.

"It really only takes one to make landfall to have a large impact on communities," Ms Gardner said.

If a cyclone severely impacts the coast or causes loss of life its name is permanently retired from the list.

Ms Gardner said for a system to be called a cyclone it had to produce clockwise winds stronger than 62.9km/h "in a large enough area that it goes more than half way around the centre" of the storm system.

No systems have been identified on the weather bureau's long-range cyclone forecast.

NAMING RIGHTS

The names that will be given, by the BOM, to the next 10 tropical cyclones that develop in Australia's area of responsibility are:

Blake, Claudia, Damien, Esther, Ferdinand, Gretel, Harold, Imogen, Joshua and Kimi.