Pennsylvania Representative Seeks to Rename Lake Erie

Pennsylvania State Representative David Maloney is preparing a resolution calling on the federal government to rename Lake Erie to Lake Pennsylvania. Maloney argues that the lake is central to the state's identity and economy, noting that Pennsylvania has only one Great Lake while neighboring regions have more. He has urged President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to implement the change.

This proposal follows a pattern of rebranding by the Trump administration. On August 27, President Trump issued an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid a trade war with Canada. This followed a January 2025 order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Trump has also proposed renaming New Mexico to New America and suggested renaming the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Canada has firmly rejected the renaming of Lake Ontario. Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario then, now and always. While these executive orders only bind the U.S. federal government, digital services including Apple Maps and Google Maps have already updated the names for users within the United States.