New Jersey lawmaker suggests new name for historic Delaware Bay

The Garden State should rename its historic Delaware Bay to “The Bay of New Jersey,” a state lawmaker inspired by President Trump renaming the Gulf of America proposed in new legislation this week. 

The bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Michael Testa Thursday, would direct state agencies to use the term “The Bay of New Jersey” in “publications, signage, websites, and materials to reflect the new designation and notify relevant federal entities,” NJ.com reported. 

“I look at the robust fishing industry — commercial fishing industry and recreational industry of the State of New Jersey,” Testa told the outlet. “I think that the fact that we have to call the bay that we fish in the Delaware Bay – they’ve had a claim to that long enough.” 

The bay – a vital body of water for New Jersey tourism, commerce and travel – has had the name of its southern neighbor since 1610, when it was named after the third baron de la Warr, Thomas West, who governed the Virginia colony, according to the Delaware government’s website. 

“Make New Jersey Great Again!” Testa, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, wrote in an X post touting the bill Friday. 

The proposal comes about six months after Trump famously renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America – a move that led Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to jokingly suggest that the Long Island Sound be recognized as the “Connecticut Sound.” 

“While the maps are changing, here’s an idea,” Lamont posted on X with a map of the sound renamed, and tagged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

In a second bill introduced this week, Testa suggested that the Garden State should reclaim a slice of land located on Salem County’s shoreline, which was deemed part of Delaware in a decades-old border agreement.