is a hurricane and a typhoon one in the same, but called different based on which side of the equator it is on? Someone told me this and I am not certain....

They're the same, but they're both north of the equator. It's longitude that matters. The standard answer is "hurricanes originate in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the Pacific." But any strong tropical cyclones in the eastern Pacific off the west coast of North America are hurricanes, too.

From the National Weather Service glossary:

"Hurricane / Typhoon:
A tropical cyclone in which the maximum sustained surface wind (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 64 kt (74 mph or 119 km/hr) or more. The term hurricane is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Dateline to the Greenwich Meridian. The term typhoon is used for Pacific tropical cyclones north of the Equator west of the International Dateline."

They are the same: both are tropical cyclones that differ only in location. Typhoons occur in the western North Pacific Ocean whereas hurricanes occur in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific Oceans. Tropical cyclones that occur below the equator in the Pacific Ocean are called cyclones, Willi Willies, or other local names. Tropical cyclones do not occur below the equator in the Atlantic Ocean.