on Thursday claimed that he considered renaming the Atlantic Ocean as ‘Trump Ocean’ on digital maps but dropped the idea after Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly pushed back against the proposal.
Trump recalls his talks with Sundar Pichai
Recalling his talks with Sundar Pichai, Trump said he had approached Google about changing the name displayed on its maps, only for Pichai to reject the request. “I called Google Maps to change the name of the Atlantic Ocean to Trump Ocean. Sundar said, ‘No, no, no,'” Trump said. He said, ‘Please don’t ask us to do that.’
Trump said Google told him it could not make such a change because oceans span multiple countries. He spoke about the idea during a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia and added that he had contacted Google to discuss renaming one of the oceans after himself, but the company pushed back.
How Sundar Pichai saved Atlantic Ocean from being renamed as Trump Ocean?
As per the updates from Trump, Google representatives told him that changing the name of an ocean was different from renaming other geographical features because oceans extend across several countries.
The US President further claimed that the mapping and navigation company could not comply with his request because the ocean spans multiple countries. “He said oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover, they cover a lot of countries,” Trump said.
However, Trump later clarified that his suggestion was meant as a joke, adding that it was not among the worst ideas he had proposed. This latest remark came after Trump previously floated the idea of renaming major geographical features after the United States or himself.
Trump had floated ocean renaming proposal earlier this month
Earlier, Trump raised the possibility of renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, suggesting names such as “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas”, according to an October 10 report by The Washington Post.
However, he argued that the United States should have an ocean named after it and suggested that he wanted the change to take place before leaving office. He also joked about naming an ocean after himself.
Earlier, Trump made efforts to rename geographical features
Earlier, he also made efforts to rename geographical features. In 2025, he had moved to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a decision that triggered diplomatic tensions with Mexico and a dispute with the Associated Press over the terminology used in its coverage.
Prior to that in August 2026, Trump also renamed Lake Ontario, which lies between the United States and Canada, as Lake America amid tensions with Canadian leaders over trade and tariffs. It must be noted that private mapping companies, including Google Maps, have generally adopted the new names for US users following Trump’s moves, although the changes have not necessarily been recognised internationally.