‘Oceans Are Different’: Trump Says Google’s Pichai Rejected Ocean Rename

US President Donald Trump said Google CEO Sundar Pichai rejected his idea to rename the Atlantic Ocean after him or America. He added that Google had told him oceans were different from other water bodies renamed under the incumbent administration. Trump made the claim at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Wednesday, October 21.

The two-time President recalled asking Google to make the change after earlier renaming pushes involving other water bodies. He quoted Pichai as telling him, "No, no, no, this time I'm not doing it". Trump added that Google told him oceans were treated differently because they covered many countries.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of Trump’s account from Google or Pichai.

Rally Recounting

Trump framed the idea around the world’s two largest oceans. "I'm not gonna put either Trump or America on any other ocean, but these two," Trump said at the South Carolina rally, referring to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

He then praised Google’s top leadership while describing the exchange. "And I spoke to a brilliant guy, Sundar, he heads all of Google, he's a brilliant guy," Trump said. He also referred to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Pichai as "totally brilliant guys".

Trump said Pichai pushed back when asked if Google could handle the Atlantic rename. "No, no, no, this time I'm not doing it," Trump recalled Pichai telling him. He added, "He said, he said, oceans are different, sir. You know, they cover, they cover a lot of countries," and then asked the crowd, "Should I pass it? I think let's keep it the Atlantic Ocean, right?"

Earlier Renaming Push

The episode follows Trump’s wider push to rename geographic features. On September 29, after a White House meeting with tech executives on AI safety, Trump called Pichai a "monster", apparently referring to his influence in the technology industry, while joking that few people knew him.

The 80-year-old Trump had floated a similar ocean-renaming idea earlier this month. On October 10, The Washington Post reported that he had suggested renaming either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean as "Trump Ocean" or "Ocean of the Americas". He had also said the US needed an ocean named after it and joked about naming one after himself before leaving office.

Trump has already pushed through other name changes. In 2025, he renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a move that led to diplomatic tensions with Mexico and a dispute with the Associated Press over usage. In August 2026, he also renamed Lake Ontario, which lies between the United States and Canada, as Lake America amid tensions with Canadian leaders over trade and tariffs. Private mapping companies, including Google Maps, generally adopted the new names for US users, though the changes were not necessarily recognised internationally.