Google renames ‘Gulf of Mexico’ as ‘Gulf of America’ for US users

In a recent blog post, Google stated that users in the US will see the Gulf of America, while users in Mexico will still see the Gulf of Mexico. For the rest of the world, both names—Gulf of America and Gulf of Mexico—will appear.

The Google blog post mentioned that in US, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has officially updated ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’.

This change follows an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Additionally, Trump declared February 9 as ‘Gulf of America Day’.

The renaming is part of Executive Order 14172, signed on January 20, 2025, which mandated changes to the US Continental Shelf area. As per the order, the Secretary of the Interior was tasked with initiating the renaming of the body of water bordered by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, extending to the maritime boundary shared with Mexico and Cuba.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Trump justified his decision by emphasising the significance of the Gulf to the United States. “I took this action in part because, as stated in that Order, the area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” Trump said.

Trump also highlighted the importance of the renaming while officially declaring February 9, 2025, as the first-ever Gulf of America Day. 

Donald Trump posted a map of the newly named Gulf on X (formerly Twitter), with the caption, ‘The Gulf of America’.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)