Google has announced that once Federal mapping databases reflect the changes ordered by the Trump Administration, they will rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali mountain in Google Maps.
The company is complying with President Donald Trump’s executive order that changed the names of several American landmarks. The U.S. Department of the Interior officially confirmed these name changes and Google, in a post on X, stated their practice of updating names from official government sources.
The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the “Gulf of America” for U.S. users, as per the Trump administration’s decision. Similarly, Denali will return to being known as Mount McKinley in Google Maps for global users, reverting back to its previous name before the Obama administration renamed it. Despite protests from some Alaskan senators, the Trump administration has decided to make this change.
It’s important to note that users in different countries will see contested geographic names based on their country’s official stance. Google Maps will display both the American and Mexican names for the Gulf of Mexico side by side for users in various countries.
Google will update these changes once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated. While the Interior Department has announced the name changes, the GNIS still reflects the previous names as of now.
