Google Maps has updated its display for the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for users located within the United States. This change reflects a recent executive order by the US government that renamed the body of water.
Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: DeepSeek AI Panic!
Google, adhering to its policy of aligning with official government resources, implemented the name change following the update of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). While the “Gulf of America” label will be visible to users in the US and those with their device location set to the US, users in other countries, such as Mexico, will continue to see it as the “Gulf of Mexico” or a combination of both names.
Apple Maps has also begun reflecting this change, displaying “Gulf of America” as the official name while still showing “Gulf of Mexico” on the map itself. Apple has indicated that this change will be implemented globally in the near future.
It’s important to note that this name change primarily affects federal usage. The Congressional Research Service has clarified that private companies like Google and Apple are not legally bound to adopt the new name.
This incident highlights the complex interplay between government policy, private companies, and the evolving landscape of geographical nomenclature.
