Why is Google Maps renaming the 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America'?

Google Maps is set to update the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" following an official change in the U.S. Geographic Names System. This update, which will be visible in the U.S., is expected to take place once the system is officially updated, the company announced in a post on X on Monday.

While the new name will be visible across the U.S., the Gulf of Mexico will still be displayed as the "Gulf of Mexico" in Mexico. For users outside these two countries, both names will appear on Google Maps. Google explained, "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."

This shift comes after the Trump administration’s Interior Department confirmed the official renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and other landmarks, such as the peak of Denali, which is now renamed Mount McKinley. The changes were part of a series of executive actions signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, just after his inauguration, fulfilling one of his campaign promises. "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 its statement.

Google will follow suit with the renaming of Mount McKinley on its platform as well. Google Maps is known for adhering to official government naming decisions, and the platform has similarly applied these conventions in previous disputes over names, such as the "Sea of Japan (East Sea)"—which is used outside of Japan and South Korea—and the contentious situation over the Persian Gulf. In 2012, Iran threatened legal action against Google when the company removed "Persian Gulf" from its map, only to later label it as "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)" in countries outside of Iran.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum humorously suggested this month that North America, including the U.S., should be renamed "Mexican America," referencing a historic term seen on an early map of the region.