According to Reuters, Google announced on Monday that it will rename the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America" in the U.S. Geographic Names System. The change will only apply in the United States, with Mexico retaining the original name. Record shows that both names will be visible in other regions on Google Maps.
Earlier in the Trump administration, the Interior Department made similar changes, such as renaming the Alaskan peak Denali to Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. President Trump initiated these alterations shortly after his inauguration to fulfill a campaign pledge.
In a statement, the Interior Department specified, "As instructed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now be officially recognized as the Gulf of America, and North America's highest peak will be known as Mount McKinley again."
Notably, Google will adjust the name of Mount McKinley accordingly, as it is consistent with its policy for addressing naming discrepancies in different countries. For instance, the water body located between Japan and South Korea is named "Sea of Japan (East Sea)" outside of the two nations.
In contrast, Iran contested Google's removal of the term "Persian Gulf" from its maps in 2012, resulting in the waterway being labeled "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)" in global map displays.