Google Maps will switch to “Gulf of America” and “Mount McKinley”
Google Maps is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and Denali to “Mount McKinley.”

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Google announced plans to update Google Maps following President Trump’s January 20th executive order mandating the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and Denali to “Mount McKinley.”
The company stated that these changes will be visible on Maps once the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the official federal database for place names, is updated.
Google agreed to follow the government’s order
In a post on X/Twitter, Google Maps emphasized its policy of reflecting name changes once government sources officially adopt them.
The company explained that when geographic names differ between countries, local users see the official name recognized in their region, while global users see both names.
This policy will also apply to the renamed Gulf of America and Mount McKinley.
The name Denali, originally called Mount McKinley, was reverted to its Indigenous name in 2015 under the Obama administration, following years of advocacy by Alaska Native groups.
President Trump’s executive order, however, restores the Gulf of Mexico’sformer name. The Grenaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America is similarly unprecedented and has sparked debate.
The US Department of the Interior, which oversees the US Board on Geographic Names, confirmed that it is implementing the name changes by executive order.
In a statement last week, the Department announced that the updates are being prioritized and are effective immediately for federal use.
The US Board on Geographic Names is actively working to revise the GNIS database to reflect the changes.
While Google has committed to updating its mapping platform, Apple has not yet commented on whether it plans to follow suit with Apple Maps.
Moreover, Apple hasn’t released any statement about its change/not changing its Maps either.
However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple also renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Denali to Mount McKinley for US users.
What do you think about this renaming? Do you support it, or would you rather the names stay the same as they are? Tell us your thoughts below in the comments, or reach us via our Twitter or Facebook.
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