US President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he had approached Google CEO Sundar Pichai with a proposal to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or the United States, only to have the suggestion declined. Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina on October 21, Trump recounted the conversation, noting that he had consulted with Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whom he described as "totally brilliant guys."
According to Trump, he asked Pichai if Google could facilitate the renaming of the Atlantic. He recalled the CEO responding, "No, no, no, this time I'm not doing it." Trump stated that Pichai explained the refusal by noting that oceans are distinct from other geographical features because they span multiple nations. "He said, he said, oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover, they cover a lot of countries," Trump told the crowd, ultimately suggesting he would abandon the idea and keep the name as the Atlantic Ocean.
This account follows earlier reports from October 10, in which Trump first floated the possibility of renaming the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas" before his term concludes. While Trump praised Pichai during the rally, his relationship with the executive has been inconsistent; on September 29, following an AI safety meeting at the White House, Trump referred to the Google CEO as a "monster" in reference to his industry influence.
Trump has previously pursued the renaming of other landmarks. In 2025, he attempted to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," a move that caused diplomatic friction with Mexico. In August 2026, he renamed Lake Ontario as "Lake America" during a period of trade and tariff disputes with Canada. While private mapping services like Google Maps have updated their platforms for US users to reflect these changes, the new names have not gained widespread international recognition. There has been no immediate confirmation from Google or Pichai regarding the conversation described by the President.
