Google Maps to rename 'Gulf of Mexico' for US users

Mojahid Mottakin / Shutterstock.com

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.

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 January 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.

Google has applied the same locale-based labelling conventions to other locations subject to naming disputes.

Outside of Japan and South Korea, the body of water bordering both nations is listed as the "Sea of Japan (East Sea)."

More from Quirky

  • Video: Humpback whale swallows and spits out kayaker

    A huge humpback whale briefly scooped a kayaker in its mouth in the seas off the coast of southern Chile before spitting him out unscathed in a dramatic incident caught on camera.

  • Giant schnauzer Monty takes best in show

    Monty the giant schnauzer won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Tuesday, finally taking the top prize after reaching the final round for the third consecutive year in the most prestigious dog show in the United States.

  • Australian lawmaker changes name to 'Aussie Trump'

    An Australian state lawmaker has changed his name to "Aussie Trump", in what he said was a protest against the country's ruling centre-left Labor Party.

  • T. Rex is at center of debate over dinosaur intelligence

    Surmising even the physical appearance of a dinosaur - or any extinct animal - based on its fossils is a tricky proposition, with so many uncertainties involved. Assessing a dinosaur's intelligence, considering the innumerable factors contributing to that trait, is exponentially more difficult.

  • Horses run amok in central London

    A number of horses are running amok in London and at least one person has been injured, with the army called in to help locate the animals, authorities in the British capital said on Wednesday.