What’s in a name? A lot, according to President Donald Trump, especially when it comes to putting America first.
In his inaugural speech on Monday, Trump repeated his wish to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
One of his first executive orders, entitled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness” also stated that the highest peak in North America, currently called Denali, will be changed back to Mount McKinley — the name of the Alaskan mountain prior to 2015.
Does he have the legal authority to make these changes? Could he face pushback? The answer to both questions seems to be yes and no.
Will Trump face pushback in renaming the Gulf of Mexico?
The Gulf of Mexico is bounded by the American Gulf coast, Mexico’s eastern states and Cuba. The gulf is home to intense economic activity that includes fishing, maritime transport and oil and gas production. The latter may be his reason for wanting to lay his claim.
“A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” the U.S. president said on Monday shortly after he was sworn in.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation-state has sovereignty of the waters extending 12 nautical miles from its coastline. Within that area it can enforce laws and regulations.
Meanwhile, however, there are three nation-states in the Gulf region, and as such, the U.S. doesn’t get to call the shots exclusively on the name of the body of water for all three.
The International Hydrographic Organization is a group which strives to standardize the names of international bodies of water, as well as resolve any disputes — but it has no legal authority to impose a name applicable to all parties.
That means Trump can insist the Gulf is renamed the Gulf of America on official U.S. documents, but Mexico, Cuba, or indeed the rest of the world, cannot be compelled to follow suit.
Can international differences over naming lead to disputes?
This kind of disagreement sometimes leads to diplomatic tension between neighbouring countries. For example, Iran says Persian Gulf while Iraq says Arabian Gulf.
Japan and South Korea have been in a long running dispute over the name of the waters between them. Tokyo calls it the Sea of Japan. South Korea says it the East Sea.
Not exactly po-tay-toe – po-tah-toe.
Who regulates American geographical names?
For the most part, nations have an official internal organization that maintains a registry of geographic names.
In the U.S. that falls to the Board on Geographic Names (BGN), established in 1890 by former president Benjamin Harrison. “To this Board shall be referred all unsettled questions concerning geographic names which arise in the Departments, and the decisions of the Board are to be accepted by these Departments as the standard authority in such matters,” Harrison wrote from the executive mansion.
Then in 1947, that authority was further clarified by Congress in an act “to provide a central authority for standardizing geographic names for the purpose of eliminating duplication in standardizing names among the Federal departments, and for other purposes.”
The Secretary of the Interior oversees the BGN in fulfilling this responsibility. The board in turn oversees the Geographic Names Information System.
In Canada, the national coordinating body responsible for standards and policies regarding place names is the Geographical Names Board of Canada.
Why change Denali mountain back to Mt. McKinley?
The driving impetus for the name change of the Alaskan peak seems less about America first and more about political gamesmanship. It has long been called Denali by the Koyukon Athabascan people who live near it.
But in 1917, American officials dubbed it Mount McKinley, after then-presidential candidate, William McKinley. (He was later killed by an assassin’s bullet during the first year of his presidency.)
Why was it changed to Denali in the first place?
In recent years, there have been several moves to rename aspects of American geography to honour Indigenous peoples or correct historical wrongs. For example, in 2022, the Department of the Interior changed the names of 650 places in the country that used the word “squaw.”
In this case, former president Barack Obama mandated an official name change to Denali.
How are U.S. geographical names changed?
Proposals to change the name of a feature of American geography must be submitted to the BGN. Its guidance for the process states there “must be a compelling reason to change it.”
In taking its legal responsibility seriously, the BGN discourages name changes “merely to correct or re-establish historical usage.” Generally, the BGN explains, the most important policy regarding names is local use and acceptance. Local stakeholders are invited to review a name change proposal and provide recommendations.
Will Trump get his wish?
Despite the aforementioned process, given the headline status the desired changes received on Day One of Trump’s presidency, it seems unlikely he’ll meet with bureaucratic pushback. His nominee for Interior Secretary is North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who will be asked to direct the desired names changes in the GNIS database within the next 30 days.
Name changes on maps and official documents will likely come soon after.
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