# Under what authority does a US president have the right to rename a body of water shared with another country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636 "2026-08-28T18:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/21 "2026-08-29T00:22:41Z")
Who is “we”? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/22 "2026-08-29T01:07:23Z")
A bit off topic but George R. Stewart’s [Names On The Land](https://www.nyrb.com/products/names-on-the-land) is a great book full of stories behind place names in America. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/23 "2026-08-29T16:53:07Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > There was a suggestion in this morning’s paper that we rename Lake Superior to Lake Obama It would make more sense to rename it “Lake Obama-Superior” ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/24 "2026-08-29T17:05:22Z")
Small bit of pedantry with the thread title: the government, including the President, doesn’t have rights. In other words, the person who is the President has the exact same rights that the rest of us have. The office of chief executive has the _authority_ to determine what the US government calls things. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/25 "2026-08-30T01:46:04Z")
Hari\_Seldon’s location is Montreal, so “we” probably means Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/26 "2026-09-02T09:33:41Z")
Lake Victoria was unilaterally renamed Lake Ida Amin Dada in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/27 "2026-09-02T11:53:29Z")
I heard the idea was; Change From: Lake Superior To: Lake Obama Is Superior ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/28 "2026-09-02T12:03:36Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Lake Victoria was unilaterally renamed Lake Ida Amin Dada in the 1970s. It was Lake Edward that had that, um, distinction - on the other side of Uganda. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/29 "2026-09-05T11:03:39Z")
Indeed: it took years to find an acceptable compromise over FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia)\>North Macedonia. BTW, we don’t mind the French referring to La Manche and Les Îles Anglo-Normandes. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636/30 "2026-09-05T11:05:49Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > What happens when it it time to sign an international treaty? Seems like the translation can get messy. Indeed: it took years to find an acceptable compromise over FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia)\>North Macedonia. BTW, we don’t mind the French referring to La Manche and Les Îles Anglo-Normandes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-authority-does-a-us-president-have-the-right-to-rename-a-body-of-water-shared-with-another-country/1032636.md?page=1)