Can Lake Ontario be Renamed Lake America or Anything Else?

The name Lake Ontario comes from the Wyandot (Huron) word Onitariio, meaning "Lake of Shining Waters" or "Great Lake." Following President Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to adopt the name "Lake America," a major geographical question arises: Can a presidential order actually change the name of a shared international landmark beyond domestic federal paperwork?

The Legal Threshold Beyond U.S. Federal Agencies

A U.S. Executive Order instantly changes how federal entities—such as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA—label maps. However, establishing "Lake America" (or any new name) in wider usage requires crossing several distinct legal and regulatory hurdles:

1. State Jurisdiction (New York State): The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) handles federal standardization, but individual state governments maintain independent authority over state highway signs, regional tourism, and local land records. Without state legislative updates, local signage remains "Lake Ontario."
2. International Treaties & Canadian Consent: Because the international border splits the lake in half, one country cannot unilaterally rename a binational body of water. The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) holds authority north of the border, meaning Canadian official charts will continue using "Lake Ontario."
3. Global Maritime & Cartographic Bodies: Nautical navigation relies on consensus via the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). International commercial maps and GPS systems typically default to dual-labeling or retain the historical name unless both border nations reach a formal agreement.

Until a proposed name meets these multi-jurisdictional standards, commercial map publishers, state agencies, and international navigation databases will continue using the established name.

Origin Stories of the Five Great Lakes

The naming history of the Great Lakes reveals a shared pattern rooted in Indigenous languages and early European cartography.

• Lake Superior: Named Lac Supérieur ("Upper Lake") by 17th-century French explorers due to its position as the northernmost lake, replacing the Ojibwe name Gichigami ("Great Water").
• Lake Michigan: Derived from the Ojibwe word Mishi-gami, which translates directly to "Great Water" or "Large Lake."
• Lake Huron: Named by French traders after the Huron (Wyandot) people who lived along its shores, whom the French called Huron (referring to their hair style).
• Lake Erie: Named after the Erie tribe, an Iroquoian nation whose name comes from Erielhonan, meaning "long tail" (referring to the panther).
• Lake Ontario: Originated from the Wyandot word Onitariio, translating to "Beautiful Lake" or "Lake of Shining Waters."

How Lake Ontario Fits the Naming Pattern of the Great Lakes

The name "Lake Ontario" is deeply integrated into the cultural and historical framework of the Great Lakes system:

• Indigenous Foundation: Four of the five Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) derive their names directly from Indigenous languages or the Indigenous nations who inhabited the region.
• Descriptive Cartography: Like Lake Michigan ("Great Water") and Lake Superior ("Upper Lake"), Lake Ontario ("Beautiful Lake") was chosen as an environmental description of the landscape rather than a political statement.
• Geographic Legacy: The lake eventually gave its name to the Canadian province of Ontario, linking the body of water to the political geography surrounding it on all sides.

Changing Lake Ontario to a political designation like "Lake America" departs from 400 years of regional cartographic tradition that favors Indigenous geographic names. Will changing the name to Lake America overcome the other legal hurdles? Time will tell.

For tracking of geographic policy updates, historical context, and mapping changes, see coverage from the non-partisan news of bluebillnewsletter.com.