Taking a page from the Trump playbook, Pa. lawmaker wants to rename Lake Erie

First, it was President Donald Trump proclaiming Lake Ontario was renamed “Lake America” and now a Pennsylvania state lawmaker has Lake Erie in his sights.

Rep. David Maloney, a Berks County Republican who lives over 350 miles from Erie, is proposing a resolution to urge Trump, Congress and the Interior Department secretary to change the name of Lake Erie to “Lake Pennsylvania.”

“The case is about the lake’s modern identity,” said Maloney in a statement.

GoErie.com reported last week on Maloney making a “tongue-in-cheek” comment about renaming Lake Erie the “Lake of PA” during a joint legislative meeting on fishing and tourism, but the joke that drew laughs at the time has now become a reality.

Maloney, of Boyertown, said in a co-sponsorship memo that Pennsylvanians from across the state visit Lake Erie in the summer to boat and fish — along with visitors from New York and Ohio — and to take advantage of the shoreline, and Erie Bluffs and Presque Isle state parks.

Citing research by Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Maloney’s statement said 74% of anglers surveyed live in Pennsylvania but travel an average of 103 miles to reach Lake Erie, augmented by those from New York and Ohio coming for the county’s “Steelhead Alley.”

Pennsylvania, the statement said, “punches well above its weight in maintaining our Great Lake’s recreational fishery,” stocking nearly 500,000 yearling steelhead last year — more than any state or Canadian province — and supplying all the brown trout stocked in 2025.

“This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake. It’s modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it,” said Maloney.

“Ohio has plenty of shoreline. New York already has two Great Lakes. Canada has four others,” he said. “Pennsylvania has one. Let’s call it Lake Pennsylvania!”

Lake Erie is bounded by Ontario, Canada, to the north and Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and New York.

In a statement to PennLive, Erie County Executive Christina Vogel said the county does not want the “historic name” of Lake Erie to change.

“Lake Erie’s name reflects the layers of our history, from the Indigenous Erie people to the pivotal role our region played in the War of 1812,” Vogel said. “Preserving this name honors our past and the contributions that helped shape our nation.”

Vogel’s statement said the Lake Erie name is “a vital part of our shared heritage, honoring the Indigenous Erie tribe who lived along the lake’s southern shore in the 17th century.”

That legacy, according to the statement, “is woven into the identity of both Lake Erie and Erie County, and we remain committed to recognizing and respecting that history.”

The statement said the lake also has “national significance” for its role in the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie that “marked a turning point” for the United States and was “made possible by ships built right here in Erie County, Pennsylvania, which helped secure the nation’s future and is one of the many reasons we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary today.”