Google bows to Trump, renames Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America

Google has officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for Map users in the US following an executive order from President Donald Trump.

Google Maps now displays the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America to users in the US after announcing it would in January.

The search company said at the time it had a "longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

Users in Mexico continue to see the body of water referred to as the Gulf of Mexico on the Maps app, while everyone else sees both names, as in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).

“When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too,” Google said in a post on X.

The firm points to the Sea of Japan, or the East Sea – as it is known in South Korea – as an example of this practice. In Google Maps in the US, the sea is designated as the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Google changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico after the federal Board on Geographic Names also formally updated it this week.

“As we announced two weeks ago and consistent with our longstanding practice, we’ve begun rolling out changes to reflect this update,” Google said in a short blog post announcing the move.

Trump also ordered Mount Denali in Alaska to be renamed Mount McKinley, and Google said it would implement the change “quickly” once official systems are updated.

Mexico criticized Google for kowtowing to President Trump and challenged the company to rename the US as América Mexicana, or Mexican America, as some of its territories were referred to in 17th-century maps.

Technically, if Mexico decides to rename the US in its official documents, Google should follow suit, according to its own policy.

The Gulf of Mexico has been known as such for 500 years, long before the states of both Mexico and the US were founded. Apple has also renamed it to Gulf of America on its Maps, and so did Microsoft on its Bing maps.

The Associated Press (AP), a news agency, said it would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its original name. As a result, it said its reporter was barred from entering the White House for an event in the Oval Office.

"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment," AP Associated Press Executive Editor Julie Pace, said.