From Lake Ontario to Lake America: Who gets to decide the names of geographical places?

While an executive order can impose a name within the United States, it cannot dictate how the rest of the world identifies a shared territory

On Aug. 27, 2026, President Donald Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario ‘Lake America,’ claiming his administration had already ‘notified all of the various people you have to notify’

While an executive order can impose a name within the United States, it cannot dictate how the rest of the world identifies a shared territory

Users across the world have seen a change in how Lake Ontario appears on their screens after Donald Trump ordered the name change for one of the Canadian Great Lakes amid escalating tensions with America's northern neighbour

What you call Lake Ontario now depends on where you are logging in from. Google Maps has begun showing "Lake America" to US users following US President Donald Trump's executive order, while Canadians still see the name that has stood for more than 400 years.

People in Canada will still see the body of water labeled Lake Ontario, the Indigenous-rooted name used since the 17th century, on their devices and computers, the US-based tech giant said

Google said it made its change in line with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official federal database for geographic names.

Google said it made its change in line with the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official federal database for geographic names.

A geographer explains the politics and procedures behind renaming American places.

The company said it updates Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which includes the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.

“It’s absolutely backwards,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford says after Google adopts “Lake America” for US users while Canada still sees Lake Ontario.

People in Canada will still see Lake Ontario, the Indigenous-rooted name used for the lake since the 17th century, on their devices and computers, the US-based tech giant said.

People in Canada will still see Lake Ontario, the Indigenous-rooted name used for the lake since the 17th century, on their devices and computers, the US-based tech giant said.

Google Maps said it changed the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" after the US Geographic Names Information System, the federal government's official database of place names, did the same. Bloomberg/Getty Images Google Maps now shows "Lake America" to US users after Trump ordered the name change. Canadian users w

Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell plans to field proposal to nullify President Donald Trump's order on renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America.