'Gulf of Mexico' renamed 'Gulf of America' on Google Maps

Google Maps is changing the name of "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System, it said in a post on social media platform X on Monday. 

The change will be visible in the United States but will remain "Gulf of Mexico" in Mexico.

Outside of the two countries, users will see both names on Google Maps.

Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, is to be renamed Mount McKinley....
Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, is to be renamed Mount McKinley. Photo: Reuters

The Trump administration's Interior Department said on Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley.

Google Maps, which is owned by Alphabet's Google, will make a similar change with Mount McKinley.

US President Donald Trump ordered the name changes as part of a flurry of executive actions hours after taking office on January 20 this year, making good on a campaign promise.

"As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America's highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley," the Interior Department said in a statement last week.

The names Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of America will both be visible to Google Maps users outside of...
The names Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of America will both be visible to Google Maps users outside of the US and Mexico. Image: Google Maps
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month jokingly suggested North America, including the US, be renamed "Mexican America" - a historic name used on an early map of the region.

Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson referred Reuters to the company's X post.

Google has applied the same locale-based labelling conventions to other locations subject to naming disputes.

Outside of Japan and South Korea, the body of water bordering both nations is listed as the "Sea of Japan (East Sea)."

In 2012, Iran threatened to take legal action against Google over its decision to drop the term "Persian Gulf" from its Google Maps and leaving the waterway between Iran and the Arabian peninsula nameless.

The body of water is now labelled "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)" in other countries.