For users in the US, Google Maps has formally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
This update follows an executive order signed by former US President Donald Trump which caused the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a US government database in charge of place names to formally change.
On Google Maps users in the United States now see the Gulf of America but users in Mexico still see the Gulf of Mexico.
Both names are displayed next to each other for the rest of the world.
Following the modifications made by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) the company promised to update maps in the United States.
The change in Google Maps was expected. Google said earlier that it had “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
Geographic names are standardized for use by the federal government through the GNIS a database of over 2 million physical and cultural features across the United States and its territories.
