When Trump returned to office last month, one of the many executive orders he signed was Executive Order 14172, titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness." It directed the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" and reverted Denali to its old name, Mount McKinley.
This move sparked controversy and debate, forcing mapmakers and tech companies to grapple with the change.
Google Maps, one of the most popular mapping services in the world, announced that it planned to update its maps for U.S. users to reflect the new name once federal updates were complete.
This came despite the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, urging the company to adhere to United Nations guidelines and continue using "Gulf of Mexico" on its platforms.
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
It looks like Google kept its promise. In a recent blog post, the Mountain View giant officially announced the change and informed users what to expect. Google stated:
In the U.S., the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has officially updated 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America.' As we announced two weeks ago and consistent with our longstanding practices, we’ve begun rolling out changes to reflect this update. 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 also noted that the name displayed in Maps depends on various factors, including location, SIM, network, and locale.
Trump has been in office for less than a month, and we've already seen sweeping developments across America. Musk-led DOGE has gained access to the U.S. Treasury's payment system, raising cybersecurity concerns.
Executive Order 14172 was just one of many Trump signed last month. Others include an order delaying the enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok by 75 days to allow for negotiations on its ownership and operations in the U.S., a sweeping deregulation initiative requiring the elimination of ten existing regulations for every new one introduced, and a controversial order affecting transgender military service, altering policies on recruitment and medical procedures.
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