Tropical cyclones have been given names for a long time, but that's not what I was referring to. Now-a-days snowstorms and other run-of-the mill phenomena are given names. That's pretty recent.

And is it really "entirely" in how I see it? I'm referring to the breathless intonation of modern weather talking heads as they discuss normal weather phenomena as a "polar vortex" (in scare quotes). They used to just say it was going to snow more or be colder. The use of "polar vortex" in that context definitely amps up the drama.