US President Donald Trump has claimed that he considered renaming the Atlantic Ocean “Trump Ocean” but decided against the idea after Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly refused his request, saying oceans
were different because they covered multiple countries.
Trump recounted the alleged conversation with Pichai while discussing his preferences for geographical names. He said he had contacted Google Maps to explore the possibility of renaming the Atlantic Ocean but was told that the proposal could not be accommodated.
“I said, Sundar, I’m thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. Can you handle it?” Trump said, recalling his conversation with Pichai.
According to Trump, the Google CEO responded, “No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it.”
“He said, ‘Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that,’” Trump said.
Indicating that he would drop the proposal, Trump added, “So, I’ll probably pass. Should I pass it? I think let’s keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right?”
Trump also praised Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, describing them as “totally brilliant guys”.
Trump said his interest in renaming an ocean was limited to the Atlantic and Pacific, suggesting he would not attach his name or America’s name to any other ocean.
“I only like two oceans, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. I’m not going to put either Trump or America on any other ocean but these two,” he said.
The US President also referred to his father’s assessment of his ability to identify desirable locations.
“My father said that kid has the greatest eye for location,” Trump recalled.
Trump’s comments come amid a series of geographical renaming efforts during his presidency, including the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario as Lake America for US government use.
TRUMP HAD PREVIOUSLY FLOATED RENAMING AN OCEAN
Trump’s latest remarks follow earlier reports that he had proposed renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean after himself.
The Washington Post, in a report published on October 10, 2026, said Trump floated the idea of renaming an ocean during a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee. He suggested the names “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas”, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.
A CNN report later said Trump described the proposal as a joke, claiming he had contacted Google and received a refusal. He said he had sent the company an image labelled “The Trump Ocean” and recalled being told that oceans covered many countries and could not be renamed in the same way.
GOOGLE MAPS HAD ALREADY ADOPTED ‘LAKE AMERICA’ FOR US USERS
The proposed ocean renaming follows Google’s earlier decision to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users in the United States.
In August, AFP reported that Google had redesignated Lake Ontario on its US maps following Trump’s announcement. The move drew criticism from Canadian officials amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.
Google said it had made the change in line with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official federal database for geographical names.
“Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US, people using Maps in the US will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names,” Google said in a blog post, according to AFP.
The company therefore continued displaying different names depending on users’ locations. Apple, meanwhile, was still displaying Lake Ontario on its Maps application as of the AFP report.
