Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Maps has officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
- The name change is only visible if you live in the US. Users in Mexico will still see “Gulf of Mexico.”
- Users in other parts of the world will see both names.
Update, February 11, 2025 (5:23 PM ET): Companies everywhere are scrambling to react to all the name changes being put into effect by the Trump administration, with some getting to them ahead of others. Earlier today, we saw Google Maps implement the government’s rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” but noted that its peer Apple Maps had yet to follow suit with a change of its own. Now Mark Gurman at Bloomberg confirms that Apple has pushed out the name change, as well.
Original article, February 11, 2025 (11:36 AM ET): There’s been a lot of chatter around naming a particular body of water lately. Shortly after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” The name change was made official on February 9, and now, it’s live for all Google Maps users in the United States.
If you live in the US, what used to be called the “Gulf of Mexico” is now labeled as the “Gulf of America.” However, if you live outside the US, you may still see the previous name (or both). Google Maps users in Mexico will continue to see “Gulf of Mexico,” while the rest of the world will see both names labeled as “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).” US users also see both names when zoomed out far enough, but the new Gulf of America name takes over as you zoom in closer.
The name change will take time to get used to, and Google seems well aware of this. If you live in the US and search “Gulf of Mexico,” you still see the location info for the area rather than an error message.
Google first detailed its plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico a couple of weeks ago, explaining that it updates location names in Google Maps whenever there’s a change to the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
Checking on our end, the Gulf of America rename is live for the Google Maps Android and iOS apps and the Google Maps desktop site. Interestingly, Apple Maps still shows the previous Gulf of Mexico name.
Will the Gulf of America’s new name hold? Will other bodies of water get renamed later this year? Stay tuned to Gulf Authority for all of your maritime coverage.
