Trump says Sundar Pichai persuaded him against renaming Atlantic Ocean
What's the story
US President Donald Trump has claimed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai advised him against renaming the Atlantic Ocean. The statement was made during a recent rally, where Trump said he would "probably pass" on the idea after talking to Pichai about it. The tech mogul reportedly told Trump, "Oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover... they cover a lot - they cover really a lot of countries. Please don't ask us to do that," Pichai said.
Proposal details
Pacific Ocean as the American Ocean?
Trump had also expressed his intention to rename the Pacific Ocean as the American Ocean. He even suggested names like "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas."
"I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right? Pacific Ocean... we're gonna call it the American Ocean. How do you think Europe would feel? Do you think they'd like that?" Trump said to Pichai.
Past actions
Trump's history of geographical name changes
This isn't the first time Trump has tried to rename geographical features.
In 2025, he attempted to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, sparking diplomatic tensions with Mexico and a row with the Associated Press over its terminology.
Earlier this year, he also renamed Lake Ontario (which lies between America and Canada) as Lake America amid trade and tariff disputes with Canadian leaders.
Corporate reactions
Impact on mapping services and tech companies
Despite the lack of international recognition, private mapping companies like Google Maps have generally adopted Trump's new names for US users. The move comes as part of a trend among tech giants to comply with his geographical changes.
Apple is one such company that has followed Google's lead in implementing these name changes on its maps. However, other mapping apps like MapQuest have refused to do the same.