Google Maps Updates Naming Following Trump's Lead on Gulf of Mexico
Google announced that the new name will be displayed following an update to a federal mapping database. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Users will see the new name once a federal mapping database updates the changes, the tech giant has said.
Google Maps is set to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America following an update to the US government’s Geographic Names System, as announced in a post by the company on X on Monday.
In addition, Google Maps will revert the name of the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, back to its name prior to 2015, which is Mount McKinley.
“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,” the company stated on X.
The updated name will be visible as Gulf of America within the US; however, the name will remain as the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. “When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names,” Google added on X, highlighting this as part of their established practice.
The decision to rename comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that aims to honor “American Greatness.” The US Interior Department confirmed the changes on Friday and indicated they are working to update the Geographic Names Information System.
“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 asserted in a statement.
The mountain in Alaska will revert to the name it held from 1917 to 2015, prior to then-US President Barack Obama restoring its original native name. The ‘McKinley’ name honors the 25th US president, William McKinley, who was in office during the victory in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
The Gulf of Mexico, an oceanic basin that connects to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, runs along Mexico's eastern coast, the US's southeastern coast, and Cuba's western edge. The term Gulf of Mexico has been in use by European explorers and cartographers for over 400 years.
Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed renaming North America, including the US, to ‘Mexican America,’ in reference to a historical name found on an early map of the region.
Following Trump’s directive to change the map last week, tech billionaire and political ally Elon Musk humorously suggested that the US should also rename the English Channel to ‘the George Washington Channel’ in tribute to the first American president.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
Google Maps is set to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America following an update to the US government’s Geographic Names System, as announced in a post by the company on X on Monday.
In addition, Google Maps will revert the name of the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, back to its name prior to 2015, which is Mount McKinley.
“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,” the company stated on X.
The updated name will be visible as Gulf of America within the US; however, the name will remain as the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. “When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names,” Google added on X, highlighting this as part of their established practice.
The decision to rename comes after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that aims to honor “American Greatness.” The US Interior Department confirmed the changes on Friday and indicated they are working to update the Geographic Names Information System.
“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 asserted in a statement.
The mountain in Alaska will revert to the name it held from 1917 to 2015, prior to then-US President Barack Obama restoring its original native name. The ‘McKinley’ name honors the 25th US president, William McKinley, who was in office during the victory in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
The Gulf of Mexico, an oceanic basin that connects to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, runs along Mexico's eastern coast, the US's southeastern coast, and Cuba's western edge. The term Gulf of Mexico has been in use by European explorers and cartographers for over 400 years.
Earlier this month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed renaming North America, including the US, to ‘Mexican America,’ in reference to a historical name found on an early map of the region.
Following Trump’s directive to change the map last week, tech billionaire and political ally Elon Musk humorously suggested that the US should also rename the English Channel to ‘the George Washington Channel’ in tribute to the first American president.
Olivia Brown contributed to this report for TROIB News
