These ocean proposals build on a wider series of geographic renamings carried out during Trump's presidency.
US President Donald Trump has floated fresh suggestions to rename key international waters, including the Strait of Hormuz, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaking at an event in South Carolina, Trump suggested calling the Pacific Ocean the "American Ocean". In a separate speech in Clarksville, Tennessee, he also floated names such as "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas".
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Discussing the two major oceans surrounding the United States, Trump said: "I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right? Pacific Ocean—we're going to call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe, how do you think Europe would feel? Do you think they'd like that?". He added that he was focused on either ocean, noting: "I’m not going to put either Trump or America on any other ocean".
Trump also teased the idea of renaming the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East to "Trump Strait", joking about how Arab nations might react.
He explained that his previous effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" was initially laughed off by officials before being made official policy. Defending that decision, Trump pointed out that the US controls most of the coastline, stating: "We have 93% of the, as we say, the real estate business frontage. We have 93%, they have seven".
A wider push across American landmarks
These ocean proposals build on a wider series of geographic renamings carried out during Trump's presidency.
On his first day back in office, he signed Executive Order 14172, ordering federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America" and restoring the name "Mount McKinley" for North America's highest peak, Denali. In August 2026, he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" for federal use.
Trump has also renamed infrastructure, including a Tennessee highway bridge officially unveiled as the "President Donald J. Trump Bridge" in July 2026.
Beyond water bodies and bridges, Trump called for the state of New Mexico to be renamed "New America". In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: "New Mexico should immediately change its name to New America. We are not Mexico, we are the United States of America!". However, political leaders in New Mexico firmly rejected the suggestion, and US law prevents a president from unilaterally altering a state's name without local approval.
Trump has also discussed renaming major US rivers such as the Hudson or Mississippi, while state officials in Florida have moved to rename Palm Beach International Airport after him
Published: 22 Oct 2026, 08:52 am IST
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