# The "Gulf of America"? Wth? Can you just change the name of a body of water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 7, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683 "2025-01-07T18:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/1 "2025-01-07T18:54:38Z")
Trump is insane. Yeah, old news. You can’t just do that, can you? You can’t just buy Greenland. Can you? Who’s gonna pay for it? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/2 "2025-01-07T19:06:41Z")
Yeah, Greenland keeps saying, ‘We’re not for sale!’, like he intends to pay for it. He has a base there, he could take it in hours. He’s now threatening to financially seize Canada and Mexico. Yeah, he could do that too! He is crazy. But not like you think. All of these things are easily within his grasp, is how it looks to me. I’m inclined to think flexing that strength will only have more Americans flocking to his cause. How depressing! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/3 "2025-01-07T19:08:32Z")
We haven’t taken enough from Mexico? We even have to usurp the name of a gulf? Pathetic! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/4 "2025-01-07T19:09:32Z")
I just heard this latest delusion and thought the same thing. How are “we” going to rename it? I guess he and his reprobates will just call it that and in their alternate reality, that will be it’s new, official name. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/5 "2025-01-07T19:11:19Z")
I remember how that worked so well with freedom fries. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/6 "2025-01-07T19:11:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You can’t just do that, can you? Sure. Just tell any national agencies to use the new name when preparing maps or writing papers, etc. So when NOAA talks about a hurricane coming inland, they’ll be saying it’s currently in the Gulf of America. It doesn’t mean anyone else will use the new name but plenty of places in the world have multiple names depending on who’s talking. To be clear, I think it’s dumb but I don’t think there’s any actual barriers to it. Unlike annexing Canada or Greenland which has a bunch of obvious problems. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/7 "2025-01-07T19:13:38Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Trump is insane. > Yeah, old news. > > You can’t just do that, can you? > > You can’t just buy Greenland. Can you? > Who’s gonna pay for it? Mexico! Duh. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/8 "2025-01-07T19:19:35Z")
What a maroon! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/9 "2025-01-07T19:26:09Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > How are “we” going to rename it? Step 1: get a really, _really_ big Sharpie. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/10 "2025-01-07T19:27:33Z")
What about New Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/11 "2025-01-07T19:28:00Z")
You mean New America? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/12 "2025-01-07T19:29:11Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You can’t just do that, can you? Sure you can. You just use a Sharpie to cross out Mexico and write in America. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/13 "2025-01-07T19:33:27Z")
A Gulf by any other name would taste as salty ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/14 "2025-01-07T19:33:43Z")
Who decides things things, anyway? Sounds like a [Factual Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-the-english-language-names-of-things/1012686) to me (and **please take replies to this question there** ) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/15 "2025-01-07T19:34:18Z")
> Who’s gonna pay for it? The rubes who bought all his crappy merchandise. I can’t even come up with something witty (not that that happens often), and the only thing that does come to mind is…idiocy. Sheer idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/16 "2025-01-07T21:16:18Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Yeah, Greenland keeps saying, ‘We’re not for sale!’, like he intends to pay for it. He has a base there, he could take it in hours. > > He’s now threatening to financially seize Canada and Mexico. Yeah, he could do that too! > > He is crazy. But not like you think. All of these things are easily within his grasp, is how it looks to me. I rather doubt that winning a three-front war (in addition to all our potential ones elsewhere, some of which might take advantage) is “easily” within our grasp. Trump, of course, may expect that nobody in the world will put up any more resistance than the US Congress. ETA: I doubt anybody’s going to go to war over the name of a gulf, though. They just won’t adopt it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/17 "2025-01-07T21:17:49Z")
Moderating: > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Sounds like a [Factual Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-decides-the-english-language-names-of-things/1012686) to me (and **please take replies to this question there** ) Please don’t junior mod. This thread is fine where it is, and responses can be made here, too. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/18 "2025-01-07T21:26:54Z")
The last few Republican Presidents have had a Gulf War. Trump wants one too. We call it the English Channel and the French call it La Manche. The world hasn’t ended yet. He can rename it, but other countries don’t have to use the new name. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/19 "2025-01-07T21:31:59Z")
I guess with 77 million enablers, you have options most of us don’t. But all those hurricanes, dead zones, storm surges, craters, tornadoes and other calamities wreaking havoc on the USA; do you really want them to be sourced from the Gulf of America? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2025, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683/20 "2025-01-07T22:09:41Z")
Doesn’t China want to change the name of a sea? If so how is Trump any different then them? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gulf-of-america-wth-can-you-just-change-the-name-of-a-body-of-water/1012683.md?page=2)