ulf of Mexico becomes the Gulf of America, and google Maps will update its map names too, once it is officially updated in the U.S. Geographic Name System.
The announcement came on an X post from Google Maps, letting us know that the name will remain “Gulf of Mexico” in Mexico, However, outside of the two countries, both names will be available for users.
Even more so, the Trump administration’s Interior Department stated on Friday that they had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Yet, this was not the only change made by the Trump administration as the Alaskan peak Denali, also known as the tallest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley. The change made by Google Maps will also take place when it comes to Mount McKinley.
These changes all came as part of a flurry of executive actions after the president took his position on January 20th. The Interior Department said in a statement “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.”
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It is also worth mentioning that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, jokingly suggested that North America should be renamed “Mexican America” as it is a historic name that was used for the region in early map documentation, reposted Reuters.
Google has also applied the same local-based labeling conventions to other situations where the subject of the name was causing disputes. An example is the “Sea of Japan” which is outside of Japan and South Korea, the sea bordering both nations. The same situation also happening in the “Persian Gulf”, also appearing as the “Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)”.
By
George King
•
January 28, 2025 12:45 PM
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