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Reason why only certain users will see Gulf of Mexico's name change on Google Maps

Home> News

Updated 15:42 11 Feb 2025 GMTPublished 12:27 11 Feb 2025 GMT

Reason why only certain users will see Gulf of Mexico's name change on Google Maps

Google has now changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico on Maps

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

Featured Image Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
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There is a specific reason why only certain users will see Gulf of Mexico’s name change on Google Maps.

In case you missed it, President Donald Trump announced at his inauguration that he would be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico.

In a move that many aren’t sure who exactly asked for, the body of water will now be known as the Gulf of America.

President Donald Trump announced that he was changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump announced that he was changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

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And Google has revealed that it will be following the change made in an executive order by the president.

The tech giant confirmed that if the US government updated its official maps, then Google would follow suit.

In a statement, Google said: “In the US, the Geographic Names Information System has officially updated ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’.

“As we announced two weeks ago and consistent with our longstanding practices, we’ve begun rolling out changes to reflect this update.”

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Trump celebrated the change on Truth Social, writing: “GULF OF AMERICA!”

Only US users will see it as the 'Gulf of America' in Google Maps (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Only US users will see it as the 'Gulf of America' in Google Maps (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

However, this will only affect Google Maps users in the US, for everyone else in the world, things will stay the same. Why?

Ahead of this change, Mexico asked Google not to, arguing that the US has no legal right to rename the water body, citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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Previously speaking to the press, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said: “If a country wants to change the designation of something in the sea, it would only apply up to 12 nautical miles.

“It cannot apply to the rest, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico.”

She also joked that she was thinking about renaming North America to ‘Mexican America’, adding: “By the way, we are also going to ask for Mexican America to appear on the map.”

As far back as 1590, North America was known as Mexican America.

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Mexico has disputed the change (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Mexico has disputed the change (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Because the name of the gulf is disputed between the countries, ‘Gulf of America’ will only be shown to users in the US.

For Mexican users, they will see ‘Gulf of Mexico’ and anyone else will see ‘Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)’.

This isn’t the first time that Google has added additional names or used different names for one location.

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The body of water between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been a point of contention for decades.

In Iran, it appears on Google Maps as the ‘Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)’ but in other Arab countries near the location, it’s labeled as the ‘Arabian Gulf’.

If we’re splitting hairs, the US was once known as Turtle Island by many Native American cultures - so maybe that could be the next name change!

  • Crucial reason why you should blur your house out on Google Maps
  • Google Maps to change name of Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’ after government updates
  • Mexican president threatens to sue Google after controversial map change to 'Gulf of America'
  • Mexican President writes a letter to Google to stop the renaming of 'Gulf of Mexico' on Maps

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