Which single named freshwater lake is the world's largest by surface area?

Lake Superior is the world’s largest single named freshwater lake by surface area.

Shared by Canada and the United States, Lake Superior covers about 82,100 square kilometres, making it the largest of North America’s five Great Lakes. It is also the largest freshwater lake conventionally treated as one named lake.

The wording matters because Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are hydrologically connected at the Straits of Mackinac and can be regarded as one lake by some geographers. Combined, they have a larger surface area, but they retain separate names and are normally counted separately in standard trivia.

Lake Superior is not the largest freshwater lake by volume: Siberia’s Lake Baikal holds more water and is much deeper. Superior drains through the St. Marys River into Lake Huron, ultimately joining the Atlantic through the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system.