Hochul says New York will not use Trump’s “Lake America” name for Lake Ontario

President Donald Trump’s administration this week formally designated Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will not follow the administration’s naming approach. Hochul made the rejection in remarks reported by The Hill on Thursday, responding to the Trump administration action that changed the official reference for the Great Lake in the federal government’s framework.

The White House posted two versions of the presidential action titled “Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.” The document states it was issued “by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,” and frames the renaming as part of a policy carried out under a prior executive order announced by the administration. The White House description also links the latest order to Executive Order 14172, dated January 20, 2025, titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.”

Hochul said New York would not refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” according to The Hill. In her statement as reported, she characterized the move as something New York would decline to implement, indicating that the state would keep using the internationally known name “Lake Ontario” in its own communications and materials.

The Trump administration’s renaming order is presented by the White House as a change in federal naming policy for the Great Lake, with the stated purpose of recognizing what it describes as American history connected to the region. While the White House action establishes an official federal reference, the reported dispute highlights that states may choose how they address the naming in state use, including public-facing language and state guidance, absent a separate directive addressing state agencies directly.

The exchange comes against a backdrop in which the administration has issued multiple naming and labeling executive actions, including the Great Lakes effort tied to the January 2025 executive order. The White House presidential action page for the Lake Ontario renaming indicates that it is part of a broader administration policy announced earlier, rather than a stand-alone decision that begins and ends with Thursday’s announcement.

For New York, the immediate practical effect centers on consistency across government levels. The federal government’s naming policy can affect how federal agencies reference the lake in federal documents, signage, and intergovernmental coordination, while New York’s decision to continue using “Lake Ontario,” as Hochul said, can lead to parallel naming conventions depending on jurisdiction.

The next step in the dispute will likely be how agencies on both sides implement their respective approaches. The presidential action itself sets the federal naming policy, while state compliance is addressed through state decision-making. If future federal guidance expands beyond federal references to cover state adoption in specific programs or documentation, New York’s position would become part of a larger question about the scope of federal authority over state-facing naming practices.