Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney urges President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie
Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney is urging President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie as “Lake Pennsylvania,” arguing that the state’s economy and identity are increasingly tied to its only Great Lake. Maloney is preparing a resolution asking Trump, Congress and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to pursue the change, according to a September 8 press release. The proposal follows Trump’s August 27 executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for U.S. federal purposes.
David Maloney makes his case for ‘Lake Pennsylvania’
Maloney, who represents Pennsylvania’s 130th Legislative District in Berks County, said Pennsylvanians regularly travel to Lake Erie for boating, fishing and family trips, bringing money to communities along the state’s shoreline. He cited Pennsylvania Sea Grant research and said the state stocked nearly 500,000 yearling steelhead in 2025, about 40% of all steelhead stocked across the lake.
“This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake. Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it,” Maloney said. “Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes. Canada has four others.”
A lake shared by five states and Canada
Lake Erie borders Ontario to the north and Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York on the U.S. side. It is the shallowest Great Lake and the smallest by volume.
Its existing name has Indigenous origins. Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy says Erie is derived from the Iroquoian word “erielhonan,” meaning “long tail” and referring to the eastern cougar.
European control of the lake later became strategically important because it provided access beyond Niagara Falls.
‘Be proud and own it’
Maloney’s office told Newsweek, “The press release explains how Pennsylvanians’ care of their great lake draws other lake state residents to it for recreation and world class fishing. Be proud and own it.”
If approved, “Lake Pennsylvania” would become the name used by U.S. federal departments and agencies, while Canada would retain its own naming authority, as with Lake Ontario.
Notably, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names says existing-name changes require a compelling reason and supporting evidence, and it emphasizes local use and acceptance. Its review process can take six months or longer, and it usually discourages renaming efforts.
‘Lake Pennsylvania’ proposal comes amid Donald Trump’s renaming trend
Trump signed his “Lake America” order amid escalating trade tensions with Canada. He has also floated renaming other geographic features, while recently posting an image suggesting “New America” for New Mexico without announcing a formal renaming effort.
Maloney, first elected in 2010 and now Republican chair of Pennsylvania’s House Game and Fisheries Committee, previously worked as a building contractor and process engineer and served as a school board director and athletics official.