Google Maps Will Start Showing 'Gulf of America'

At least to users in the US
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 28, 2025 6:35 AM CST
Google Maps Will Show 'Gulf of America'
A file photo of someone using Google Maps.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Google is not going to fight President Trump on his mission to rechristen the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. As soon as the US government updates its official sources under Trump's executive order, Google Maps will start labeling the body of water the "Gulf of America," reports CNBC.

  • Rationale: "We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources," tweets the company. The Google switch will take effect once the names are updated in the nation's Geographic Names Information System.
  • But: Users in Mexico will still see the "Gulf of Mexico," reports Reuters. Users in the US will see the new name, and people in other countries will see both. On the latter, the Gulf of Mexico will appear first, and the Gulf of America will be in parenthesis, reports the New York Times.

  • The mountain: Google Maps will similarly start labeling the Alaska mountain currently called Denali as "Mount McKinley," another Trump initiative.
  • Earlier: The AP, a mainstay of newspaper style, said it will continue to use the Gulf of Mexico, though it will mention the alternative Gulf of America in its stories. Mexico's president, meanwhile, sounds bemused by it all.
(More Google Maps stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X