Google has said it will be updating its maps to change the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” for people using the search engine across the United States, just as soon as the federal government updates its own official sources.
The tech giant promised to make a similar change for the tallest peak in North America, reverting the name for Mount Denali in Alaska back to Mount McKinley. The news became a topic of conversation on Monday night anywhere from an incredulous late-night talk show circuit to forums for bewildered volunteer cartographers.
“Well, this is a fun development,” one mapping community moderator wrote, linking to an article about Google’s decision.
The change grabbed attention in part because it came quickly after a clear signal from an American president, whereas name changes are usually a long bureaucratic process — but it’s not the first time Google Maps has changed place names and world borders for different users in different locations, especially during geopolitical disputes.
Geographers say the move out of the United States this week serves as a reminder that place names can carry real political weight.
“Most of the time, people don’t pay attention to labels. They’re always there,” said Matthew Zook, a geography professor at the University of Kentucky. “This is just a moment where we really can see how maps and how labels are powerful things.”
Place names changed all over the world
The Trump administration’s Interior Department said last Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mount Denali to Mount McKinley.Â
Google says it will change the place name in Google Maps once the titles are officially updated in the U.S. Geographic Names System.
People in the United States will see “Gulf of America,” while people in Mexico will still see the old name. Everyone else, including people in Canada, will see both names reflected.Â
The company has made similar location-based changes over the years, depending on where you are:
- India and Pakistan have been fighting over the mountainous region of Kashmir for decades. People in India who search for the Himalayan outpost on Google maps see a solid circular border that denotes the area as being under Indian control. Elsewhere, users see a dotted line that reflects the dispute.
- Similarly, Argentina and the United Kingdom have been debating ownership of the Falkland Islands since 1982. Most users who look for the archipelago on Google Maps will see it labelled as “Falkland Islands” with “Islas Malvinas” in brackets, but users in Britain don’t see the Spanish name.
- The body of water between Japan and the Korean Peninsula is widely known as the Sea of Japan, but it’s listed as the East Sea on the South Korean version of Google Maps.
- The waterway separating Iran and Saudi Arabia appears as either the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf, depending on where you are.
Geographers also pointed to the different spellings for the capital of Ukraine. It’s either Kyiv, in line with Ukranian spelling, or Kiev, as it’s written in Russia.
“Whenever you start to see a lot of names being changed for places in history, it often signals major political changes or power struggles in society,” said Reuben Redwood-Rose, dean of the geography department at the University of Victoria.
Google Maps is the dominant force in the online mapping space, both in terms of size and influence. Since its launch in 2005, the program has transformed how billions of people in hundreds of countries navigate their day-to-day lives — from planning their commutes to choosing a spot for dinner.
The program was poised to bring in $11 billion US in 2023, according to one Morgan Stanley estimate.
Former first lady and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton laughed as U.S. President Donald Trump announced during his inaugural address that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Zook says that this time around, Google could be seen as obeying an executive order from the U.S. president. But he also says that in the past, name changes were made with cash flow in mind.
“Ultimately, advertising pays the bills for Google,” Zook said in an interview Tuesday. “Anything that would maybe cause problems, make their product not be used by whatever place, they’re going to try to avoid — they’re basically trying to fit the desires and preferences of the population they serve.”
The tech company donated $1 million US to the inaugural fund for U.S. President Donald Trump, along with other companies such as Amazon and Meta.
CEO Sundar Pichai attended the inauguration on Jan. 20, as did X and Tesla owner Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.
Disputes can last decades
The naming debate for the tallest peak in North America has gone back and forth for a century. It has alternated from McKinley, after former U.S. president William McKinley, to “Denali,” a Koyukon-language word that reflects the summit’s sheer height.Â
The Obama administration most recently restored the Denali name in 2015, a change that was reflected by Google Maps within days.
Alaska’s lawmakers have said they want to keep the name Denali.
Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan last week said his preference is for “the name the patriotic, strong Athabascan people gave that great mountain thousands of years ago: Denali. We’ll continue the discussions with the Trump administration on that.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month jokingly suggested North America be renamed “Mexican America,” a name used on an early map of the region.
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Other countries do not have to fall in line with name changes in the United States. Redwood-Rose, the geography professor with the University of Victoria, says the mapping industry shouldn’t rush to adopt a change that might not stick.
“The age of Trump is not going to last forever,” he said.
“I would encourage companies and master cartographers to think critically about how they make maps and whether or not they just go along with political currents of the day.”