Renaming the Gulf of Mexico might not have seemed like a pressing issue for many Americans, yet it has been implemented following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
Since beginning his second term in the White House, Trump has been actively issuing a series of executive orders. These range from controversial topics like banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports to the topic of paper straws, sparking widespread debate. One of these changes has officially taken effect.
From the start of his term, Trump made it clear in his inaugural address that he intended to rename the Gulf of Mexico to ‘The Gulf of America,’ aligning with his ‘Making America Great Again’ slogan.
In his speech regarding the name change, Trump declared: “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”
Shortly after taking office, Trump signed an executive order characterizing the Gulf as “an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” as well as “a crucial artery for America’s early trade and global commerce.”
Despite opposition from Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the Trump administration declared the name change official.
Google announced that they would update Google Maps to reflect this change, although the name displayed would depend on the user’s location.
This update, however, has led to some confusion on social media. Some users were unaware that their location affects what name they see, and others in the US noted that it still does not appear solely as the Gulf of America.
One Reddit user shared: “I’m in Georgia, USA and my Google maps app says Gulf of America,” adding, “If I zoom out really far it changes back to Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”
Another user from Brazil commented: “In Brazil it’s still showing up as only Golfo do Mexico,” while someone from Germany noted: “Same here (Germany): it says Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America). Apple maps still just says Gulf of Mexico and nothing else.”
In a press release, the tech company explained: “In the U.S., the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has officially updated ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America.’ People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names.”
A Google spokesperson further clarified the update, stating: “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.
“When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the US quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America. Also longstanding practice: 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.”