US President Donald Trump ordered the name change from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America as part of a slew of executive orders he signed hours after taking office on January 20. Google announced on Tuesday, January 28, that it would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for users in the US once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System.
Following the order, the US Department of the Interior said the name changes were official, and America’s Geographic Names System was working “expeditiously” to fulfil the President’s order.
For geographic features in the U.S., this is when Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated. https://t.co/3NYvU7Bxjq
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025
The tech company, which owns and operates Google Maps, said to X, “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025
But there is a catch: the change is set to be visible for users in the US only and will remain in the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. Google Maps users can see both names outside the US and Mexico.
And Now Denali To Mount McKinley
As per the Interior Department, the name of the Gulf of Mexico has been officially changed to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, has been renamed Mount McKinley.
Google Maps, owned by Alphabet’s Google, will make a similar change with Mount McKinley. The Alaskan mountain was named Mount McKinley in 1917 to honour America’s 25th president, William McKinley. However, it was renamed Denali during the Obama administration in 2015.
