ON MONDAY, Feb. 10, President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14172 of January 20th gained regulatory force, requiring federal agencies refer to the Gulf of America, rather than to the "area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico..."

The Order explains, in part, that naming geographic features and other things "should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation's rich past."

As a result of this homage, The Gulf is now aptly named -- as are we and our nation -- after Italian explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci, a reference in use since 1507 A.D., if not earlier.

Conceivably, the President's rebranding action could stimulate interest in rebranding a wide range of geographic features, including some in Tennessee.

Curious about Tennessee geographic features as candidates for potential renaming, VNC found one Middle Tennessee geographic feature that seems a good candidate for a brand refresh: "The Nashville Dome," which some geologists describe as a "cratonic uplift" within the underpinnings of Central Tennessee.

INNOVATION INFLECTION

Governor Bill Lee

Fortunately, we were spared going down the "Nashville Dome" rabbit hole by Gov. Bill Lee's State of the State Address -- in which he emphasized "innovation" 11 times.

Addressing Tennesseans Monday evening, the Governor asked at one point, "If Tennessee has led the nation as a beacon of opportunity, security and freedom, why can't we be the nation's capital of innovation too?"

Of course, there's much to parse within the Governor's question.

Still, his remarks left left us wondering whether or not the Tennessee General Assembly and the Governor could simultaneously take pages from both the President's playbook and the Governor's Innovation challenge.

The General Assembly could do this by collaborating with the Governor in many ways.

For starters, they could collaborate in seeking a new geographic name for the mound upon which our statehouse sits -- e.g., from "Capitol Hill" to "Innovation Launchpad."

Such a high-profile action would signal commitment to true innovation that goes beyond jaw-boning.

Among other benefits, such an initiative could amplify the impact of the Assembly's 1997 passage of the law that created Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC).

TTDC does business today as Launch Tennessee, and serves as de facto hub of the state's increasingly networked entrepreneurial communities.

That 1997 legislative action may well have been the first true and important "innovation"-focused Tennessee legislation since 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Union.

Quite notably, this article appears in advance of LaunchTN's Feb. 25 Annual Legislative Reception, which is part of "Innovation Week" by Launch Tennessee. The full LaunchTN Innovation Week agenda is here.

The Legislative Reception is to be at The Hermitage Hotel, which is just a 4-minute downhill walk from the statehouse.

HOW TO REQUEST RENAMING

The promontory that's home to the statehouse is the highest point of land in Nashville. It's now called Capitol Hill, but since 1843 it has previously been known as Campbell's Hill and as Cedar Knob.

Plenty of re-naming has been done over the years in the United States and a new wave of both geographic, real estate and infrastructural name-changing could be forming.

A Tennessee example: In September 2024, after more than two years of broad-based grassroots advocacy, Kuwohi became the new name of Clingmans Dome, a mountain in East Tennessee. That took advocates' two-plus years to accomplish.

Upon receipt of a request from Tennessee or from any other state for a new geographic feature naming or name change, U.S Board on Geographic Names (USBGN) will ask for comment from the Knoxville-based Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names (TCGN) as part of extensive research into the matter.

In each instance, USBGN will seek input on the request from Tennesseans most affected by a proposed naming change, and Tennessee's Committee will review and comment on USBGN's impending decision.

All such requests for naming or re-naming of a geographic feature proceed along this path, even if the proposal is originally submitted only to the Tennessee Committee.

Tennessee's 32-year-old TCGN is comprised of 15 volunteer members, all of whom are subject-matter experts who act in an advisory role. TCGN is also a member of 501c3 Council of State Geographic Names Authorities

Knoxville-based Peter Lemiszky PhD is currently the group's chairman. He is also chief geologist for geological surveying, within the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

NOTES

Crucial U.S. Innovation: National Science Board on The State of U.S. Science & Engineering; The Manhattan Project (1942-1946); Vannevar Bush's 1945 report, Science - The Endless Frontier; the National Academies' Symposium of 2020; a controversial 2021 Congressional proposal; and, the National Science Board's Vision 2030 Report.

People and processes for U.S. place-naming could change further. At this time, changing names of U.S. geographic features ultimately requires an endorsement by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (USBGN), which is a unit of the U.S. Geological Survey, itself part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, a Cabinet agency.

Some reports of Governor Lee's State of the State Address focused some attention on his reference to The White House-directed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by Elon Musk.

He further emphasized Tennessee's opportunity to continue shrinking state government while improving public services, while stepping into a role enabling it to "lead the next era of American innovation."

Those and other references have left some wondering whether his primary interest in state innovation lies in using technologies to eliminate positions that might become redundant.

The President's "Gulf of America" directive calls for key agencies to consider replacing their representatives to the influential U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and there could be trickle-down effect.

Columbus Day is celebrated in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas, in commemoration of Cristobal Columbus, another Italian navigator, who, on a mission from Spain, first made landfall in our region, in 1492. VNC

. last updated 1430 13 February 2025