Trump proposes renaming Atlantic or Pacific Ocean after himself or America

US President Donald Trump has suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americans”, extending his proposals to attach American or personal names to major geographical landmarks.

Trump raised the idea during a speech to supporters in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Sunday, 11 October 2026, while discussing his earlier initiative to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America, according to Indonesia’s state news agency Antara.

“We need an ocean. So, I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americans, something like that [...] before I get out, I think we should have an ocean,” Trump said.

He did not announce a formal decision to rename either ocean. His remarks were a proposal made during the speech, rather than confirmation that an official renaming process had begun.

The suggestion follows other geographical naming initiatives by the Trump administration, including the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in the United States and a directive to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America.

Trump has also previously floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself.

Lake Ontario renamed Lake America in US records

Trump signed Executive Order 14422 on 27 August 2026, directing the US government to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America in federal geographical records.

The order, published in the Federal Register on 2 September, instructed the US Department of the Interior and the US Board on Geographic Names to update the Geographic Names Information System and replace references to Lake Ontario in federal government documents and maps.

The White House said the decision recognised the lake's importance to the US economy, history, shipping and national security. The administration also cited American investment in protecting the Great Lakes ecosystem and the role of the US Coast Guard in keeping commercial shipping routes open.

The lake lies between the US state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and forms part of the international boundary between the two countries.

The US directive applies to the country's official geographical naming system. It does not, by itself, require Canada or other countries to adopt the new name.

Canada continues to use the name Lake Ontario

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada will continue to use the name Lake Ontario, rejecting the US administration's unilateral renaming initiative.

The disagreement comes amid wider tensions between Washington and Ottawa over trade and Trump's repeated statements about Canada.

The renaming has also produced differences in how the lake appears on digital maps.

Reuters reported on 1 September that Google Maps and Apple Maps had adopted the name Lake America for users in the United States, while Canadian users continued to see Lake Ontario. Users elsewhere could see both names.

The lake's established name remains in use in Canada, demonstrating that a change to US federal records does not automatically establish a universally accepted geographical name.

Earlier moves to change geographical names

Trump's proposal to rename an ocean follows his administration's January 2025 decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for official US federal use.

On 20 January 2025, he signed Executive Order 14172, directing federal agencies to adopt the new name and restore the name Mount McKinley for the mountain in Alaska previously known officially as Denali in the US federal naming system.

The order was part of a broader initiative to change geographical names in line with the administration's stated policy of recognising American history and national identity.

The Gulf of America directive affected US government records and mapping services, although Mexico and other countries have continued to use the name Gulf of Mexico.

The administration's subsequent Lake America directive followed a similar approach, using executive authority to change the names recorded by US federal agencies.

The latest proposal concerning the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean remains at the discussion stage. No executive order or formal government announcement establishing either proposed name was identified in the available reporting.