Donald Trump wanted the Atlantic Ocean renamed “Trump Ocean” on Google Maps; but why did sundar pichai say ‘no’? | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump recalled a conversation with Google CEO Sundar Pichai at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, in which he suggested renaming one of the world’s largest oceans, the Atlantic Ocean, after himself on Google Maps. However, Pichai dismissed the idea.
“And I talked to a great guy Sundar; he heads all of Google, he’s a great guy,” Trump said.
“Trump Ocean”
Recounting his conversation with the Google CEO, Trump said he suggested changing the name of the Atlantic Ocean displayed on Google Maps to “Trump Ocean”.
“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 this.
The US president claimed that the mapping and navigation company could not comply with his request because the ocean spans multiple countries. “He said, he said the oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover, they cover a lot of land,” Trump said.
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“We got it. That’s enough. We’re not doing anything,” Trump recalled Google’s response.
He also claimed to have shared an image with the company with the suggested name “Trump Ocean”. However, Google representatives reportedly told him that the change could not be made, explaining that oceans are different from smaller geographic features.
Trump later clarified that his proposal was meant as a joke, adding that it was not among the worst ideas he had proposed.
The remarks come after Trump previously floated the idea of renaming major geographic features after the United States or himself.
Trump floated a proposal to rename the ocean earlier this month
Trump first raised the possibility of renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific oceans earlier this month, suggesting names like “Trump Ocean” or “Ocean of the Americas,” according to an Oct. 10 report by The Washington Post.
He argued that the United States should have an ocean named after him and suggested that he wanted the change to take place before leaving office. He also joked about naming the ocean after himself.
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Trump’s earlier attempts to rename geographic features
The proposal follows Trump’s previous efforts to change the names of geographic features. In 2025, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of the Americas, a decision that led to diplomatic tensions with Mexico and a dispute with the Associated Press over the terminology used in its reporting.
In August 2026, Trump also renamed Lake Ontario, which lies between the United States and Canada, to Lake America amid tensions with Canadian leaders over trade and tariffs.
Private mapping platforms, including Google Maps, have generally adopted revised names for users in the United States following Trump’s moves. However, these changes were not necessarily internationally recognized.