• Google has confirmed that it will comply with any change in name to the Gulf of Mexico that the US government enacts.
• This is in keeping with its “longstanding practice” the company explained.
• It will also do the same with Denali in Alaska, which President Trump wants to change back to Mount McKinley.

In the lead up to his inauguration, President Donald Trump signalled his intent to make sweeping changes to the landmarks in the United States, one of which being the Gulf of Mexico and renaming it the Gulf of America.

Despite the Gulf of Mexico being internationally recognised by that specific name, Trump signed an executive order to make the name change, as well as revert the Denali mountain range in Alaska to Mount Mckinley, which is what it was called before 2015.

Responding to several queries from users on what the name changes would mean for its digital services, Google confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that it would indeed comply with what the US government mandates.

“When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the U.S. quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America,” it explained. While it is difficult to argue against Google making the change if the US government instructs it to do so, confusingly, the change in name will only apply to users in the US of Google-made apps.

Here, the company noted that, “When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”

We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.

— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) January 27, 2025

As such, it seems like Google will ignore what the entire globe recognises as the name for the region, and will placate the Trump administration.

The names could also be changed quite soon, with the US Department of the Interior outlining its plans to enforce Trump’s order.

“The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, under the purview of the Department of the Interior, is working expeditiously to update the official federal nomenclature in the Geographic Names Information System to reflect these changes, effective immediately for federal use,” it shared in a statement last week Friday.

“As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America’s highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley. These changes reaffirm the Nation’s commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic assets,” it added.

With Trump also looking to strong-arm Canada and Greenland to come under US control, these seemingly benign changes could embolden the US president to step beyond the bounds of his office.