Gulf of Mexico to Be Renamed Gulf of America: Google Maps Prepares for Update
On Monday, Google made its response known to the social world by saying it would use the name as soon as it becomes listed in government files. According to the company, for changes concerning geographic names within the United States, it receives the confirmation through GNIS, short for Geographic Names Information System.
“Within hours of changes to GNIS, we update them in Google Maps,” the company said on X (formerly Twitter). Google further explained its consistent practice: “If official names differ across countries, it will show the users’ local official name, but others will display both names.”
Google said it will rename Alaska’s Denali back to Mount McKinley, as in another renaming choice by the Trump administration.
The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name since at least the late 1600s. In terms of geospatial parameters, this vast body of water is bordered to the north by the U.S. southern coast from Texas to Florida and to the south by Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
As the ninth-largest body of water globally, the Gulf covers over 615,000 square miles, equivalent to the size of Alaska. It spans nearly 1,000 miles east to west and 660 miles north to south. Its 3,540-mile shoreline is split between the U.S. and Mexico, with over half bordering Mexico, as per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Naming U.S. geographical locations is regulated by the BGN. A federal body tasked with standardizing place names government wide, it tends to be stingy about renaming places unless some compelling reason justifies such actions. “The BGN discourages name changes unless justified by a strong rationale,” the board explains on its website. “Changes to restore historical usage alone are not sufficient grounds.
While federal renaming decisions are authoritative, states and other countries are not necessarily bound to adopt them. Florida, however, has already embraced the new name. Governor Ron DeSantis recently referred to the body of water as the “Gulf of America” in a state of emergency declaration last Tuesday regarding cold weather conditions.
This name change brings a change in the historical identity of one of the most important waterways of the world, which sets off debates about tradition, government, and modernization.
