US search engine giant Google has already switched the name in its American apps, citing a federal database called the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
Justyna Kacprzak, a spokeswoman for the Polish government commission that names geographical features outside Poland, told state news agency PAP that Google Maps' naming choices do not bind the country.
"The official Polish name remains Lake Ontario," Kacprzak said.
She added that the body has not yet decided whether to take up the issue, and it is unclear whether it will come up at its next meeting, expected in late September or early October.
The agenda is set by the commission's chairman, Maciej Zych, with any decisions posted on the body's website, as happened with the Gulf of Mexico.
That earlier case could be a guide, the PAP news agency reported.
When Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" in early 2025, the commission reviewed the move that March and decided to keep the traditional Polish name.
It argued that the gulf is shared with Mexico and Cuba, so a US-only change should not affect what it is called elsewhere, including its internationally recognised name, set by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO).
Asked whether the same logic could apply to Lake Ontario, which also sits on a border—between the United States and Canada—Kacprzak said it was not out of the question, but that everything hinges on the body's next meeting.
Lake Ontario was named in the 17th century, and according to the leading theory, its name derives from a Huron word meaning "great lake."
It was only about 200 years later that the same word was given to the Canadian province.
Several towns in the United States are also called Ontario.
The 16-member Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside the Republic of Poland (KSNG) includes linguists, geographers, a foreign ministry protocol specialist and a military cartographer.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP