Conn. Governor Ned Lamont has signed an executive order that renames the Long Island Sound to the Gulf of Connecticut. This comes two months after U.S. Pres. Donald Trump signed executive orders that renames the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, while Denali is now back to Mount McKinley.
Lamont said in a press conference that the state of Connecticut deserves more recognition than it normally gets across New England and the Northeast, and that the body of water should be named after a state, rather than an island.
Lamont also cited a Change.org petition that gained thousands of signatures as one of the motivating efforts to rename the body of water. He claimed that this renaming would be wanted by most Connecticut residents, unlike most of the nation when it comes to the Gulf of America.
Both of Connecticut’s U.S. Senators, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, endorsed the name change, citing that it was time for Connecticut to get more recognition. Google announced in response that while they would change the name on Google Maps for all residents of New England states to the Gulf of Connecticut, residents of New York could keep the Long Island Sound, while the rest of the U.S. would have the body of water labeled as Long Island Sound (Gulf of Connecticut).
However, the Associated Press, with the same reasoning used for the renaming of the Gulf of America, has decided that they still will refer to the body of water as Long Island Sound as it borders land that still recognizes the name.
In recent years, the state of Connecticut has made a push for more national recognition in various ways. One of the other notable ways they’ve tried to push for national recognition is over New Haven’s pizza. In fact, in May 2024, U.S. House of Representative Rosa DeLauro of Conn.’s 3rd district declared New Haven “the Pizza Capital of the United States.” The Conn. Department of Transportation also put up signs making declarations meant to troll residents from neighboring states when entering. When entering Connecticut from New York along I-84 and I-95, the signs declare Connecticut the Pizza Capital of the U.S. When entering Connecticut from Massachusetts from I-91, I-84 and I-395, the signs declare Connecticut the Basketball Capital of the world. Also, when entering Connecticut from Rhode Island along I-95, the sign declares Connecticut the Submarine Capital of the world, and when entering along U.S 6, the sign declares Connecticut the Foodie Capital of New England.
In response to these troll signs, Governor Ned Lamont said, “These new signs are not just markers on our highways, they are a reflection of what makes Connecticut special.” Once the long-awaited Shoreham-New Haven Bridge connecting I-91 to Long Island is finally opened after over five decades of planning, a new troll variant will be unveiled when entering Connecticut from New York declaring Connecticut the home of the Gulf of Connecticut.
However, some people from New York and Long Island are not pleased with Lamont’s executive order. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has threatened to put tolls on roads entering New York from Connecticut .U.S. House of Representative member Nick LaLota serving New York’s first congressional district said, “This name change is stupid, New York still beats Connecticut in so many ways and a petition with few signatures should be the deciding factor.”
On-campus, students are watching the argument closely. Amanda Mack, a freshman forensic science major said, “As a Long Islander, obviously I don’t think it should be renamed…The Long Island sound has a much better ring than the gulf of Connecticut.”
“It’s just one of those things where no one would actually call it the new name if it was changed. Kind of like how everyone still calls “X” Twitter.” The name change is expected to inflame the rivalry between New York and Connecticut. In response to the name change, Long Island residents are now trying to court Hochul into recognizing Connecticut’s Connecticut River as the “Mouth of Long Island.” More retaliations could be on the way from New York.
