Google switches name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America for US users

California-based internet giant says the name of the body of water will depend on the user’s location.

Google has begun calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America following United States President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the body of water.

The California-based internet giant said on Monday that the name of the gulf on its applications would depend on the location of the user.

“People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names,” Google wrote in a blog post.

Google flagged its intention to make the change in a post on X last month, explaining that it uses the designations of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a database run by the US Geological Survey.

In the same X post, Google said it would also change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska to Mount McKinley, after former US President William McKinley, once it was updated in the official database in line with Trump’s order.

Trump signed his executive order to rename the natural features hours after taking office on January 20, casting it as a decision to “honour American greatness”.

Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America, was given its name by the Indigenous Koyukon Athabascan people.

The US government changed its name to Mount McKinley in 1917 in honour of the late Republican president, who was assassinated by an anarchist in 1901.

Former US President Barack Obama’s administration restored the mountain’s Indigenous name in 2015 before a presidential visit to Alaska.

Trump’s decision to rename the natural features drew backlash from Indigenous groups in Alaska and prompted Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to sarcastically suggest that North America be renamed “Mexican America”, as it was referred to in one of the country’s founding documents.

Read More

  • Related Posts

    Google, Justice Department face off in climactic showdown in search monopoly case

    WASHINGTON — Google returned to federal court Friday to fend off the U.S. Justice Department’s attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it’s navigating a pivotal shift…

    Google leans further into AI-generated overviews for its search engine

    This page either does not exist or is currently unavailable. From here you can either hit the “back” button on your browser to return to the previous page, or visit…

    You Missed

    Lucy Letby ‘used as scapegoat for failings of senior doctors’ according to her childhood friend

    Lucy Letby ‘used as scapegoat for failings of senior doctors’ according to her childhood friend

    Distraught woman admits to using ‘homeless man’ from viral AI prank to file fake sex abuse report

    Distraught woman admits to using ‘homeless man’ from viral AI prank to file fake sex abuse report

    Reform UK gets first House of Lords member as Tory donor jumps ship

    Reform UK gets first House of Lords member as Tory donor jumps ship

    ‘See me one more time before I die’: Thomas Markle issues desperate plea to Meghan from hospital bed  

    ‘See me one more time before I die’: Thomas Markle issues desperate plea to Meghan from hospital bed  

    ‘I don’t want to die estranged from Meghan. I want to meet my grandkids and Harry’: Thomas Markle speaks to the Mail’s CAROLINE GRAHAM from his hospital bed in this world exclusive interview

    ‘I don’t want to die estranged from Meghan. I want to meet my grandkids and Harry’: Thomas Markle speaks to the Mail’s CAROLINE GRAHAM from his hospital bed in this world exclusive interview

    Multiple homes DESTROYED as out-of-control bushfires wreaks havoc on suburbs north of Sydney

    Multiple homes DESTROYED as out-of-control bushfires wreaks havoc on suburbs north of Sydney