New York’s Official Stance on Lake Ontario Name Change
One of New York's most famous bodies of water officially has a new name, at least as far as the federal government is concerned.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America."
The order directs the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Board on Geographic Names to make the change within 30 days, updating the federal Geographic Names Information System and eventually replacing references to Lake Ontario on federal maps, documents, contracts and other government communications.
But don't expect New Yorkers to stop calling it Lake Ontario anytime soon.
New York Responds to Lake Ontario Order
Shortly after the executive order was signed, Gov. Kathy Hochul made it clear that New York State has no intention of going along with the change.
"New York won't be calling it that," Hochul said.
That means we could wind up with the unusual situation where the same body of water has different official names depending on which government map you're looking at.
The executive order applies to the federal government, but it does not force New York State, Canada or international organizations to adopt Lake America. Canada has already rejected the change as well.
So, while a future federal map may say Lake America, New York State maps, highway signs and tourism materials could continue referring to the water as Lake Ontario.
Interestingly, the name being replaced by the federal government has been around much longer than either the United States or Canada.
Ontario comes from the Indigenous Wendat language and has been used for more than 400 years. The province of Ontario was actually named after the lake, not the other way around.
Will Google Maps Change Lake Ontario to Lake America?
The executive order only requires federal agencies to use Lake America. Private companies aren't required to make the change, meaning mapping services and other businesses will ultimately have to decide which name they want to display.
After Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico renamed the Gulf of America in 2025, some mapping services adopted the new U.S. designation while others continued displaying the traditional name or showed different names depending on where users were located.
Lake Ontario, or Lake America, could now face a similar identity crisis.
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