Middle English usage of Turkye or Turkeye is found in The Book of the Duchess (written in 1369–1372) to refer to Anatolia or the Ottoman Empire.[45] The modern spelling Turkey dates back to at least 1719.[46] The bird called turkey was named as such due to trade of guineafowl from Turkey to England.[36] The name Turkey has been used in international treaties referring to the Ottoman Empire.[47] With the Treaty of Alexandropol, the name Türkiye entered international documents for the first time. In the treaty signed with Afghanistan in 1921, the expression Devlet-i Âliyye-i Türkiyye (“Sublime Turkish State”) was used, likened to the Ottoman Empire’s name.

Türkiye had historical usage and precedent; “the Gulf of America” does not. Admittedly, Erdoğan was probably motivated by the same base nativist urges. But there’s something substantially different in saying “we want our nation to be called this” versus “we want to rename international territory.”