Trump Suggests Renaming Atlantic or Pacific Oceans as "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas"

At a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, this past Saturday, Donald Trump humorously proposed a bold new geographical name change: renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans as "Trump Ocean" or the "Ocean of the Americas." His suggestion was met with laughter and applause from the audience.

"We need a river and we need an ocean," Trump stated, with a grin. "I've been thinking about the Atlantic or the Pacific. We could call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas," he continued, as reported by EFE news agency.

While the idea was not accompanied by any executive order or formal administrative procedure, Trump defended it by arguing that the United States deserves an ocean and a major river named after it, drawing on other geographical renaming efforts he has championed since the start of his second term in office.

"Before I leave, I think we should have an ocean. And we need a great river," he added.

During the same event, Trump jokingly dismissed the notion of renaming the Hudson River, which runs through New York and bears the name of explorer Henry Hudson, by quipping, "He did a good job setting that mess up a long time ago." He also ruled out changing the name of the Mississippi River.

"I could say the dumbest things, and you would applaud," the former president remarked at the rally held at the F&M Bank Arena.

Ongoing Pattern of Renaming

This ocean proposition is part of a broader pattern of renaming initiatives Trump has pushed since January 2025. The most notable was the transformation of the Gulf of Mexico into the "Gulf of America" through an executive order on January 20, 2025, his first day back in office.

Trump disclosed that he had considered naming it "Gulf of Trump" but decided against it because, in his words, "it wouldn't sound quite right."

The second official change came on August 27, 2026, when Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America," a body of water shared with Canada.

Canada's response was swift; Prime Minister Mark Carney declared that Canadians would continue to refer to it as "Lake Ontario now and always," while Ontario Premier Doug Ford erected a large sign on the Canadian shore reading, "Lake Ontario. Now and Always." Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston dismissed the renaming as "truly nonsensical."

International Reactions

Among the suggested but not implemented changes—lacking executive backing—are renaming New Mexico as "New America," a proposal Trump acknowledged would require public consultation and a state constitutional amendment, and transforming the Strait of Hormuz into "Trump Strait," an idea floated in early September.

International reactions to this renaming policy have been largely negative. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum humorously suggested that, following the Gulf's renaming, they might start calling the U.S. "Mexican America."

No international body has recognized any of Trump's proposed new names. Tech giants Google and Apple have adopted "Gulf of America" only for users within the United States, maintaining "Gulf of Mexico" for the rest of the world.

The U.S. president does have the authority to order changes in the names used by federal agencies, but this power does not extend to other countries, U.S. states, or international organizations, rendering these renamings largely symbolic gestures with internal administrative reach, despite making headlines across the "Trump world."