Trump floats renaming an ocean the "Trump Ocean" or "American Ocean" at rally

US President Donald Trump on Saturday, 10 October, proposed renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean during a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee. He mentioned the names "Trump Ocean" or "American Ocean", according to The Washington Post. For now it is only an idea: there is no official order, and the naming does not affect international usage.

What the president said

In his speech Trump listed geographic features already renamed, saying: "We have a gulf. We have a beautiful lake. Now somebody said – we need a river… We need a river. We need an ocean." He added: "We'll call it the Trump Ocean or the American Ocean, something like that."

The president also said he wants to take such a step before leaving office. In his words, an ocean would be a good thing to have, along with "a great river". The Washington Post reports that Trump stressed he does not intend to change the names of the Hudson and Mississippi rivers.

Earlier steps

The remark follows changes already made. In 2025 Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to call the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America". In August 2026 he similarly ruled that Lake Ontario should be called "American Lake".

What it means in practice

The idea of renaming an ocean has not yet been formalised as an official order. If one were adopted, it would apply only to the usage of US federal agencies. Internationally, and on the maps of other countries, the names are not being changed.