Trump Says Google Rejected Request to Rename Atlantic Ocean

Google Rejects Atlantic Ocean Renaming Proposal

President Donald Trump said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America, according to The Guardian. Speaking at a rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2026, the president stated that he had contacted Google CEO Sundar Pichai to ask if the company could accommodate the proposal.

No, no, no. This time I’m not doing it, Trump recalled Pichai telling him, according to The Guardian. Oceans are different, sir. They cover a lot of countries. Please don’t ask us to do that.

Prior Geographic Rebranding Efforts

The outreach to Google followed a series of executive actions and proposals aimed at renaming prominent geographic landmarks. In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. In August 2026, he signed a subsequent executive order targeting Lake Ontario, directing that it be called Lake America. Google Maps subsequently updated its platform to reflect both names for U.S. users while maintaining original designations for international audiences, including users in Mexico and Canada.

Earlier in October 2026, during a rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, Trump floated the idea of securing an ocean rename before leaving office, suggesting either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean could become the Trump Ocean or the Ocean of the Americas. He has also previously suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz to the Trump Strait.

Limits of Federal Authority and Mapping Policies

While a U.S. president can direct federal agencies on geographic naming conventions through executive action, those designations do not carry binding international authority over shared bodies of water. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, established in 1890 and reorganized by Congress in 1947, oversees federal standardization and typically evaluates domestic naming proposals on a case-by-case basis.

Google has stated that its navigation service applies name changes when updates appear in official government sources, such as the Geographic Names Information System managed by the United States Geological Survey. However, because oceans border multiple sovereign nations, Pichai declined the latest request, leading Trump to tell the South Carolina crowd that he would likely pass on the ocean rebranding.

Did Google Change the Name of the Atlantic Ocean?

Did Google change the name of the Atlantic Ocean on its maps?

No. According to reports from The Guardian and USA TODAY, Google CEO Sundar Pichai rejected President Trump’s request to rename the Atlantic Ocean because oceans span multiple countries.

What other landmarks has the administration renamed?

As reported by Newsweek, the administration directed the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in January 2025 and Lake Ontario to Lake America in August 2026 for U.S. users.

How does Google handle disputed or changed geographic names?

Google updates its maps for domestic users based on official government sources, such as the Geographic Names Information System, while international users continue to see locally recognized names.