Cleveland City Council Renames a Portion of Lake Erie as the "Gulf of Cleveland"

Sep 14, 2026

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Today, September 14, 2026, Cleveland City Council passed Resolution 1047-2026, sponsored by Councilman Kris Harsh, renaming a portion of Lake Erie as the new “Gulf of Cleveland.” 

According to the resolution: 

“…this Council now and forever renames the area of Lake Erie from the easternmost and westernmost points of its shoreline and two miles into Lake Erie from its shoreline as the “Gulf of Cleveland.” 

With President Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, Lake Ontario Lake America, and proposing to rename New Mexico New America, Councilman Harsh realized the door was open for other government officials to rename geographies previously known by other names. He knew an opportunity when he saw one 

“For too long, we’ve bent the knee to the past, allowing dead men to name our stuff,” Councilman Harsh said. “We don’t serve dead people; we serve living people, and the time has come to reclaim our birthright. It’s much better to name things after dead guys than let dead guys name things.” 

Harsh refused to let Cleveland be swamped by the tidal wave of renamings that will flow from President Trump’s actions and the inevitable gold rush from branding and merchandising that will follow. 

“This will be great for tourism,” Harsh said. “People like to vacation in gulfs. And if the Mayor gets his way, we could have a golf course on the gulf, potentially a driving range so you could play golf into the gulf.” 

Anticipating his critics, Councilman Harsh said, “I can hear them now, saying ‘Kris, it’s not even a gulf. It’s a lake.’ To which I say, ‘Who cares?’” 

Resolution 1047-2026 instructs the Clerk of Cleveland City Council to inform global map-making corporations like Apple and Google that City Council expects them to begin using “Gulf of Cleveland,” as they have with “Gulf of America” and “Lake America.” 

Resolution 1047-2026 passed Cleveland City Council by a vote of 13 to 1. 

To see Councilman Harsh’s full floor speech on the “Gulf of Cleveland,” please visit the Cleveland City Council YouTube page.

For more information, please contact Councilman Kris Harsh at (216) 664-2943.