Google Says It Will Change Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' in Maps
Google announced on Tuesday that it will change the name of Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' for users in the US once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System.
The tech company, which owns and operates Google Maps, posted to X that it had a "longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources."
The change is set to be visible for users in the US only and will remain Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. Outside of the US and Mexico, Google Maps users will be able to see both names.
US Interior Department implements change of name of Gulf of Mexico
The US Department of Interior said last week that it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
The department said the US Board on Geographic Names was working "expeditiously" to update the names of these features in the Geographic Names Information System.
Federal officials also announced that the name of North America's highest peak, Alaska's Denali, had been changed back to Mount McKinley.
The subject of what to call North America's highest mountain peak has been a matter of debate for many years, with the Obama administration deciding to formally call it Denali in 2015, the name that local Natives once used.
Google announced that it would also change Denali's name back to Mount McKinley on Google Maps.
Trump said he would rename Gulf of Mexico in his inaugural address
US President Donald Trump ordered the name changes as part of a slew of executive orders he signed hours after taking office on January 20.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had earlier this month jokingly suggested that North America, including the US, be renamed 'Mexican America' — a historic name used on an early map of the region.
After Trump signed the order to implement the name change, Sheinbaum had said: "He says that he will call it the 'Gulf of America' on its continental shelf. For us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico."
This article first appeared on DW.
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