The Gulf of America?
It seems that the Staines-upon-Thames story we reported on a little while ago has created enough of a stir for other destinations to revisit their own names.
Biggest of these, and a naming exercise on a truly massive scale, is a the story about Representative Steve Holland, a Democratic member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, introducing a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
The change would actually only affect the part of the Gulf that borders his state, so we may not have to redraw all of the maps of the world just yet.
Questionable rationale behind it? Oh, yes. But, wait a minute, isn’t this something that other places can adopt to stay ahead of their neighbours?
Take a leaf out of Steve’s book Staines and Abingdon. Don’t change your name, change the name of the river!
Or, Walton, Henley, Walton or Kingston-upon-Thames – if Staines is stealing your water, claim it back by upping the ante and make your bit of the river even cooler than before.
It also opens up an opportunity for what to change the Thames to (or your bit of the Thames). Temese, from the Celtic? Tamesas or Tamesis from Latin? Or, maybe Isis?
Time to stake your claim on the river.
