Trump Says He Called Google CEO Sundar Pichai to Discuss Renaming the Atlantic Ocean
Trump Says He Phoned Pichai About Renaming the Atlantic
President Donald Trump revealed at a rally in South Carolina on Wednesday that he called Google CEO Sundar Pichai to ask whether Google Maps could rename the Atlantic Ocean. According to Trump, Pichai declined. Trump said he only likes two oceans — the Atlantic and the Pacific — and had considered giving one of them a new name, floating "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas" as possibilities.
Pichai Pushed Back, Citing How Many Countries an Ocean Touches
Per Trump's account, Pichai replied: "No, no, no. This time I'm not doing it. Oceans are different, sir. They cover really a lot of countries. Please don't ask us to do that." Trump, who called Pichai a "brilliant guy," then joked that Google's team was "still rattled from the Gulf." He told the crowd he would "probably pass" on the attempt, asking: "Should I pass it? I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean."
Gulf of America and Lake America Set the Precedent
The proposal did not come out of nowhere. Trump had already renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America by executive order shortly after taking office in January 2025, and Google Maps adopted the new name for U.S. users weeks later. He also pushed to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America amid a trade feud with Canada, which Google Maps also reflected for U.S. users. "We've got the Gulf, we've got a beautiful lake, and now somebody said, 'You need a river,'" Trump told supporters.
U.S., Mexico, Canada and the Rest of the World Would See Different Names
Renaming a body of water is not just a label change. Under the earlier precedents, Google Maps shows the new name to U.S. users, while users in Mexico and Canada still see the original names, and users elsewhere see the original name followed by the new name in brackets. An ocean is a different matter: the Atlantic touches dozens of countries, which Pichai cited in pushing back. For federal use, names of oceans and seas fall under the Foreign Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Trump could direct federal agencies to adopt a different name, but that would not bind anyone else.
