Updated 02/11/2025, 10:30 p.m.: it's Apple Maps' turn to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which became "Gulf of America" on a whim by Donald Trump. The change is currently being rolled out. As with Google Maps, Apple’s app will display the new name to American users, while the rest of the world will continue to see the “historical” name of the Gulf.
Updated on 02/11/2025 at 09:20: Google Maps has officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” for all American users, on the web or on the mobile app. Google says it is following the GNIS (Geographic Names Information System), an American database of location information, as it had announced it would do in January, following the decision to change the name by the new American president Donald Trump. For now, Apple has not followed the same operation on its Plan platform, even if users searching for "Gulf of America" are redirected to the Gulf of Mexico.
Original article:
On January 20, the day of his inauguration, the new American president Donald Trump signed a series of decrees. Among them, two concerned geographical issues. In addition to wanting to change the name of the highest mountain in North America, called since 2015 "Alaska Denali" and changed to "Mount McKinley", the man wanted to attack the Gulf of Mexico. From now on, it will be called Gulf of America, for citizens of the United States, where it will remain Gulf of Mexico for Mexicans.
But what about these changes on a platform as popular as Google Maps? Earlier this week, the US company clarified that it was in favour of the name change, provided that the US publishes its update to the name of the Gulf of America on its official maps. Once the change is made, Google Maps will offer Americans the name Gulf of Mexico, while Mexicans will continue to use it as Gulf of Mexico. Elsewhere, Google Maps will offer both names.
“We have a long-standing practice of implementing name changes when they have been updated by the official government,” Google said in a post on X. The tech giant, whose Maps app is used by more than two billion users, added that “When official names vary from country to country, Maps users see the official local name. In the rest of the world, everyone sees both names.” This also applies here."
What order will Google Maps give to the two names?
According to the New York Times, Google nevertheless declined to comment on the order of the names, for all users who will be able to read the two names of the gulf. Meanwhile, Apple representatives did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.
Despite President Donald Trump's still unpublished statements, the two new names for the Gulf of Mexico are not an isolated case in the world. For the maritime area between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Google names the gulf under two names, for international users. We thus find the display "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)" and "Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf)". The choice of one or the other varies depending on the user's country, and particularly in Arab countries close to the zone.
Source: New York Times
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