Donald Trump suggests renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean to the ‘Trump Ocean’ or ‘Ocean of the Americas’
The president floated the idea after changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” via executive order in August, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” by the same means in January 2025

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- Donald Trump suggested renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean during a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 10
- “We need a river, we need an ocean. So, I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We call it ‘Trump Ocean’ or ‘Ocean of the Americas.’ Something like that,” the president said
- Trump floated the idea after changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” via executive order in August, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” by the same means in January 2025
After changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” via executive order in August, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” by the same means in January 2025, Donald Trump has now suggested that the Pacific and Atlantic oceans be next to be renamed.
“We’ve got the Gulf, we’ve got a beautiful lake, and now someone said, ‘You need a river,’ ” the president, 80, said while speaking at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 10. “I don’t wanna change the name of the Hudson River.”
“We need a river, we need an ocean. So, I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific,” he continued. “We call it ‘Trump Ocean’ or ‘Ocean of the Americas.’ Something like that.”
While Trump first floated the idea of renaming one of the oceans during an executive order signing ceremony on Aug. 27, he revisited the topic this weekend, telling his supporters, “We have to. We should have before I get out.”
“I think we should have an ocean and we need a great river,” he added. “Now I’m not changing the name of the Mississippi. I love Mississippi, we won that state by so much.”
While the U.S. government has authority to change landmark names on domestic maps, Trump cannot force other nations or international organizations to adopt his name adjustments, according to the Associated Press.
One of Trump’s first major name changes came in 2025, when he announced he would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he told reporters at the time. “Which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory. The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate.”
He also reverted the name of the nation’s tallest mountain, Mount Denali, back to its former title of Mount McKinley, after former president Barack Obama‘s administration changed it to pay tribute to the Alaskan Native population in 2015.
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In August, Trump teased the new name for Lake Ontario in a video shared on TikTok amid tensions with Canada over trade.
“We’re gonna make a little change, we’re gonna call it something different than Lake Ontario,” he warned, taking a marker and crossing out the lake’s name on a map. “We’re gonna call it Lake America. And all it takes is a good pen and some intelligence.”
Trump then wrote “LAKE AMERICA” above the crossed-out title.
“Now we have a lake and now we have a gulf,” he said. “Enjoy Lake America.”

