Google renames 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' on Google Maps: Here’s why

Google Maps

Google Maps will now call the "Gulf of Mexico" the "Gulf of America" for users in the U.S. This happened because Donald Trump signed an order last week to rename some landmarks, and the US government quickly made it official.

Google Maps gets its place names from the official government database. Since the government changed the name to "Gulf of America," Google Maps is now showing the new name. So, when people in the US check Google Maps, they’ll see "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico."

But here is the thing: in Mexico, the name stays as "Gulf of Mexico." And for people outside the U.S. and Mexico, both names—"Gulf of America" and "Gulf of Mexico"—will show up on Google Maps.

Google also clarified that they have always updated names whenever the government officially changes them. It’s just part of their policy to stay in line with official records. “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,” Google said on social media platform on X.