Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney is preparing a resolution urging President Donald Trump and federal officials to rename Lake Erie “Lake Pennsylvania,” extending a growing series of proposals to change prominent U.S. geographic names.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney is calling for Lake Erie to be renamed “Lake Pennsylvania,” arguing that the commonwealth’s only Great Lake should carry a name reflecting Pennsylvania’s economic, recreational and cultural connection to its shoreline.
The Republican lawmaker is preparing a resolution asking President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and members of Congress to pursue the change, according to a Fox News report. The proposal follows Trump’s recent decision to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America” for federal purposes and his earlier renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
“This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake. Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it,” Maloney said in a statement. “Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes. Canada has four others.”
“Pennsylvania has one. Let’s call it Lake Pennsylvania!” he added.
Lake Erie is the shallowest of the five Great Lakes and the smallest by volume. Approximately 12 million people live within its watershed, including about 10.5 million in the United States and 1.9 million in Canada.
Maloney’s proposal arrives only weeks after Trump signed an Aug. 27 executive order directing the federal government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The order instructed the Interior Department and U.S. Board on Geographic Names to update federal records and maps, but the action does not compel Canada or other governments to adopt the new name.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the change and said his country would continue using the lake’s traditional name.
“We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always,” Carney said.
Despite Canada’s position, Apple Maps and Google Maps subsequently began displaying “Lake America” to users in the United States, according to Fox News.
The Lake Ontario order has also prompted congressional interest in making the new federal name permanent through legislation. Florida Republican Rep. Jimmy Patronis is pushing a proposal to codify “Lake America”, rather than leaving the designation dependent solely on executive action.
The Great Lakes are not the only geographic features targeted for renaming during Trump’s second term.
On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico. As with Lake America, the change governs federal terminology but does not require Mexico, international organizations, states or private entities to adopt the designation.
Apple Maps and Google Maps later displayed “Gulf of America” to U.S. users through location-based naming systems.
Trump has since suggested changing the name of New Mexico to “New America,” prompting Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation to urge Apple and Google to publicly commit to retaining “New Mexico” on their mapping platforms. He has also floated new names for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Maloney’s resolution would bring Pennsylvania into that broader naming debate by seeking federal action on Lake Erie, whose shoreline is shared by Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Unlike Trump’s Lake Ontario order, Maloney’s proposal remains a request for action rather than an enacted name change. His argument centers on Pennsylvania’s comparatively limited access to the Great Lakes system and the importance of that shoreline to tourism and recreation.
If the proposal advances, it would add “Lake Pennsylvania” to a growing list of attempted or completed geographic rebrandings that have emerged since Trump returned to the White House.
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