WASHINGTON: Google Maps will change the name of “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System, Google said in an X post on Monday.

The change will be visible in the US, but the name will remain “Gulf of Mexico” in Mexico. Outside of the two countries, users will see both names on Google Maps. The Trump administration’s Interior Department said on Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley.

Google Maps, which is owned by Alphabet’s Google, will make a similar change with Mount McKinley. President Donald Trump ordered the name changes as part of a flurry of executive actions hours after taking office on Jan 20, making good on a campaign promise.

“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 said in a statement last week.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month jokingly suggested North America, including the United States, be renamed ” Mexican America ” — a historic name used on an early map of the region. Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson referred agency to the company’s X post.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2025