US users will no longer see the Gulf of Mexico on Google Maps
Google Maps is the go-to navigation app for millions of people worldwide, so any update it rolls out has an impact on its massive user base. Now, Google is complying with the Trump Administration and is making some name changes within the app.
Google announced plans to update Google Maps to follow President Trump's executive order, which calls for renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. The company mentioned on X that these changes will appear once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.
Google explained that it’s standard practice for the company to update names in Maps only once official government sources have made the change. The company also pointed out that when name changes differ between countries, Maps users will see their official local name, while the rest of the world will get both versions.
Google announced plans to update Google Maps to follow President Trump's executive order, which calls for renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. The company mentioned on X that these changes will appear once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.
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
Also longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025
So, it’s safe to say that Google Maps will likely update Denali to Mount McKinley worldwide soon since the mountain is entirely within the US. However, not everyone around the world using Google Maps will see the Gulf of America. While the change will show up in the US, it will still be labeled as the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. For users outside of both countries, Google Maps will display both names.
Since Google follows the practice of updating names based on official government sources, we’ll likely see the same updates on Waze, given that it's owned by Google. As for Apple, it's unclear if it will update its Maps, but it might eventually have to follow suit.
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