President Donald Trump revealed at a rally in Clemson, South Carolina, on October 21 that he had considered renaming the Atlantic Ocean to the "Trump Ocean" but was advised against the idea by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Trump described a conversation with Pichai, who reportedly declined the proposal, citing the complexities involved with changing the name of an ocean that spans multiple countries.
“I only like two oceans − the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean,” Trump said, noting that he was unwilling to put his or America’s name on any other ocean. He recalled calling Google Maps during discussions on renaming landmarks, including his previous successful efforts to rename geographic features like Lake Ontario to Lake America and the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. However, Pichai reportedly told him, “‘Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.’”
Trump ultimately said he would probably abandon the plan and instead keep the name Atlantic Ocean.
While a sitting president can direct how U.S. government agencies refer to geographic features, such actions typically apply only domestically and do not carry international legal weight. Oceans such as the Atlantic and Pacific have widely recognized names that are used by multiple countries, and there is no international authority capable of mandating global acceptance of a U.S.-led renaming.
Google has a stated policy of using official government names on its maps. The company previously updated names such as the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario within the United States, following what it called a “longstanding practice” of reflecting changes in official government sources. According to Google, when official names vary between countries, its map service displays the official local name to local users and provides both names internationally. An example is the Sea of Japan, which is also referred to as the East Sea in South Korea; Google Maps shows both names to its users depending on their location.
Trump’s proposal to rename the Atlantic Ocean was part of a broader effort during his administration to rebrand or restore geographic landmarks. His administration renamed Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg and changed the highest peak in the United States from Denali back to Mount McKinley. More recently, Trump advocated changing the name of New Mexico to “New America,” arguing the change would enhance the state's value and prestige. However, state names are legally established in state constitutions, and cannot be altered unilaterally by presidential executive order.