Google Says It Will Change Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ for US Users

Tug boats tow the semi-submersible drilling platform Noble Danny Adkins through the Port Aransas Channel into the Gulf of Mexico in Port Aransas, Texas, on Dec. 12, 2020. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Google said on Monday that it will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for users in the United States once the name change ordered by President Donald Trump is reflected in the federal system.

The tech giant said it will also rename Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to “Mount McKinley” on Google Maps once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is updated.

“We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps,” the company stated on X. “We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”

The name change would only be visible to users in the United States, the company said. The name Gulf of Mexico will remain the same in Mexico, while users in other countries will see both names displayed on Google Maps, it stated.

Google’s announcement followed a recent statement from the U.S. Interior Department on Jan. 24, which officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and reverted Alaska’s Denali to its former name, Mount McKinley, in compliance with Trump’s executive order.

The department said that it had been “working expeditiously” to update the official federal nomenclature in the GNIS to reflect the name changes “effective immediately for federal use,” according to the statement.

Trump signed an executive order just hours after his inauguration on Jan. 20, pledging to restore Denali’s former name in honor of the 25th U.S. president, William McKinley.

Trump said that he wanted to honor McKinley “for giving his life for our great nation” and to recognize “his historic legacy of protecting America’s interests and generating enormous wealth for all Americans.”

After the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, a gold prospector named William Dickey referred to its highest peak as “Mount McKinley” in an 1897 New York Sun article.

Native Alaskan groups in the area have used their own names for the mountain for centuries. The name “Denali” is an Athabascan word that translates to “the great one” or “the high one.” A consortium of Athabascan tribes in Alaska called the Tanana Chiefs Conference had advocated for years to use their name for the mountain.

Former President Barack Obama signed an executive order in 2015 renaming the 20,310-foot peak Denali in honor of native Alaskans. The Interior Department has described Trump’s decision to restore the peak’s historical name as “a meaningful recognition of President McKinley’s enduring legacy.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Jan. 21 that she strongly disagrees with the president’s decision to rename the peak.

“Our nation’s tallest mountain, which has been called Denali for thousands of years, must continue to be known by the rightful name bestowed by Alaska’s Koyukon Athabascans, who have stewarded the land since time immemorial,” she stated on X.

Jacob Burg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.