President Donald Trump suggested renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas” during a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. He also said the Hudson and Mississippi rivers would keep their current names.
The remarks, reported by Atlanta News First, mark the latest extension of a branding campaign that began on Trump's first day back in office. On January 20, 2025, he signed Executive Order 14172, titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” which directed federal agencies to replace “Gulf of Mexico” with “Gulf of America” and restore Alaska's Denali to “Mount McKinley” for official federal use, according to the Federal Register.
A Pattern That Stretches From the Gulf to the Great Lakes
The ocean suggestion is not an isolated flourish. In May 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Gulf of America Act of 2025 by a narrow 211-206 vote, an attempt to permanently codify the Gulf of Mexico's new designation in federal statute, per the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. Then in August, Trump signed another executive order directing Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in federal databases amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada. FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul reported the order, while CBS News reported that the directive followed a breakdown in trade talks. Hoodline covered that Lake Ontario renaming order at the time.
The pattern extends beyond water. Trump also suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait” during 2026 Middle East maritime disruptions, and floated renaming New Mexico “New America” over Labor Day weekend in September, according to video cited by Hoodline. Separately, Hoodline mentioned a Las Cruces rally for Representative Deb Haaland and Vasquez.
Federal Place-Name Standardization
Renaming an ocean is a different legal matter than renaming a gulf or a lake entirely inside U.S. territory. Federal place-name standardization is formally delegated to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, an agency created in 1890 and codified by Public Law 80-242 in 1947 under 43 U.S. Code sections 364 through 364f, though presidential executive orders have bypassed its standard local consultation process, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Naming Practices Vary
News organizations and mapping services have responded differently to the name change. The Associated Press did not adopt the new name universally, while online mapping companies generally adopted it. Federal records use Lake America, while Canada retains Lake Ontario.
