A humorous suggestion made by a liberal comedian 15 years ago to change the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the “Gulf of America” has resurfaced thanks to President-elect Donald Trump.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump described it as a “beautiful name” for the body of water that runs along the southern coast of the United States, stretching from Texas to Florida and encircling Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

A federal board holds the authority to rename locations in the U.S., and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene quickly vowed to propose legislation to make this happen. However, such changes may not be enforceable on states adjacent to the gulf or other nations.

“We plan to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which sounds wonderful,” Trump stated. “The Gulf of America—what a lovely name, and it’s fitting.”

Federal records indicate that the Gulf has been referred to by various names over the past 600 years, including Golfo de Nueva España (The Gulf of New Spain) and Mar Di Florida (the Florida Sea). These names illustrate its complex history as territories changed between France, Spain, and other European nations that colonized the Americas.

The coastline of the gulf measures about 3,540 miles, more than half of which is along Mexico’s shoreline, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, although this does not consider all the bays and inlets.

Trump’s statements were made while discussing plans to reverse new offshore oil-and-gas drilling regulations implemented by the outgoing Biden administration.

Can Trump Rename the Gulf of Mexico?

Trump, like any citizen, can propose a name change. The federal government follows a specific procedure for naming and renaming geographic features, including rivers, lakes, and mountains. This process is managed by the Board of Geographic Names and occurs more frequently than is commonly understood. Recently, federal officials have taken steps to modify historic names that are considered offensive, particularly to African American and Native American communities.

While states aren’t obligated to adopt the same names declared by the federal government, they typically do.

“The BGN’s legal duty is to standardize geographic names throughout the federal system, just as it dissuades naming changes without a strong justification,” the Board of Geographic Names mentions on its website. “Additionally, merely altering a name to rectify or restore historical usage isn’t a sufficient justification for a change.”

In Colorado, both state and federal authorities agreed to rename the state’s highest mountain to Mount Blue Sky, previously called Mount Evans. This change was made upon the request of Native American tribes who were uncomfortable with the old name, linked to a former territorial governor involved in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. This typical renaming process saw the mountain officially renamed by state officials in 2022, followed by a federal acknowledgment the following year.

It’s important to note that while the U.S. can adjust the name used for the gulf, other nations are not required to adopt this new name. Various international organizations, including the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, assist in resolving such naming differences.

“The UNGEGN emphasizes the importance of uniformity in geographical names, advocating for the documentation of names used locally that reflect a country’s languages and traditions,” the organization states on its website. “…Experts in geography, linguistics, cartography, and planning work together to create methods, utilize technology, and promote the belief that accurate geographical names can significantly benefit global society.”

How Quickly Could the Gulf of Mexico Be Renamed?

Typically, renaming a location in the United States takes a minimum of six months, per the Board of Geographic Names. This period allows for consultations with states, tribes, mapmakers, and other relevant groups.

Greene shared a draft of her proposed legislation, titled The Gulf of America Act of 2025, on X, formerly Twitter, urging Congress to act within 180 days.

“This is our gulf. It rightfully deserves the name Gulf of America, and that’s how the whole world should refer to it,” she tweeted. “Congress needs to take the Trump Agenda seriously and act swiftly to make this change.”

What Sparked the Idea to Rename the Gulf?

This isn’t the first instance of a suggested name change.

Back in 2010, Stephen Colbert, the host of The Colbert Report, established a “Gulf of America fund” to assist in cleaning up the Gulf following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which released 168 million gallons of oil over nearly 60,000 square miles of the Gulf.

“We can’t continue to call it the Gulf of Mexico,” Colbert remarked in 2010. “We’ve damaged it, and now we must take responsibility.”

At that moment, Colbert was the host of the comedic show on Comedy Central. He currently hosts The Late Show on CBS and has been a consistent critic of Trump. The Colbert Report frequently ridiculed conservatives, particularly that kind of nationalism promoted by Trump and his supporters.

In 2012, D. Stephen Holland, a former U.S. Representative from Mississippi, jokingly suggested a name change to poke fun at his Republican colleagues, who he believed were eager to remove anything associated with Mexican heritage from the state. This proposal didn’t move forward.

What are the challenges of renaming locations?

Consistency in naming is crucial for navigation. That’s why the federal Board on Geographic Names requires federal agencies to utilize its database, the Geographic Names Information System, which contains over a million designated places in the U.S.

Similarly, at the international level, organizations such as the United Nations, the International Hydrographic Organization, and the International Maritime Organization play a comparable role.

There is also a larger social dialogue about names: Research has indicated that when European colonizers altered the names of geographical features globally, it often diminished or even erased the histories of the indigenous populations who were there before.

“Power was embedded in the landscape through place names, which helped establish a sense of belonging for colonizers and ultimately served as a mechanism for control over social and physical environments,” Beth Williamson from the University of London wrote in a 2023 study.

According to Gene Tucker, a history professor at Temple College in Texas, changing place names can provoke deeply emotional reactions. He mentioned the 2023 rename of the Army post in his hometown of Killeen, Texas, to Fort Cavazos, a change that still bothers his parents.

“Renaming a place can be very hurtful,” Tucker noted, who has a PhD specializing in Spanish-American place names and is a member of the Texas Map Society. “If you change the name of the place I grew up near, you’re altering my history, and that feels like a personal loss. It’s as if you’re saying that everything about our identity is incorrect.”

Many counties are involved in disputes over shared geographical features, Tucker explained, including China’s claims in the Pacific. Additionally, the Rio Grande river along the southern U.S. border is referred to as the Rio Bravo in Mexico.

Tucker argued that Mexico has a stronger claim to naming the gulf since its coastal stretch is longer than that of the U.S., but he pointed out that the U.S. has the authority to call it nearly anything it pleases.

“We could label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of Trump, but it wouldn’t change how the rest of the world refers to it,” he joked.

When he learned that the federal naming board typically avoids naming places after individuals until they have been deceased for five years, he responded: “Well, we could name it the Gulf of Texas then. That sounds appealing.”

What is the story with Mount Denali?

This mountain was controversially named after McKinley, despite opposition from many Alaskan residents, and was renamed Denali at the state level in 1975. Federal maps continued to refer to it as McKinley until the Obama administration officially changed it to Denali in 2015.

Recently, Trump expressed a desire to revert the naming of Alaska’s Mount Denali back to its designation by white Americans: Mount McKinley, named after former President William McKinley.