Costa Rica Post

Pura Vida, Every Day
Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026

Google Maps to Rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for U.S. Users

Google Maps to Rename 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for U.S. Users

Google Maps will update the 'Gulf of Mexico' label to 'Gulf of America' for U.S. users following a U.S. government decision, but the name will remain unchanged in Mexico.
Google Maps will change the name of the 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for U.S. users, following an update from the U.S. Geographic Names System.

This change, announced by Google in an X post on Monday, will only affect users in the U.S., while the name 'Gulf of Mexico' will remain in place for users in Mexico.

For users outside both countries, both names will be visible on Google Maps.

This decision follows a directive from the Trump administration's Interior Department, which officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the 'Gulf of America' as part of a series of name changes, including the renaming of Denali, the highest peak in North America, back to Mount McKinley.

President Donald Trump issued this order shortly after taking office in January 2017. Google’s decision reflects the company’s practice of using location-based labeling conventions for disputed names.

The company has faced similar issues in the past, such as labeling the body of water between Japan and South Korea as 'Sea of Japan (East Sea)' outside the two nations.

In 2012, Iran threatened legal action against Google for removing the term 'Persian Gulf' from its maps in favor of an ambiguous name, which was later changed to 'Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)' in various countries.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
The AI Pricing Problem: Companies Cannot Predict Their Own Bills
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Apple Briefly Crosses Five Trillion Dollar Valuation as Investors Retreat From AI Bets
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Venezuela’s Earthquake Devastation Turns U.S. Investment Opportunity Into a Thirty-Seven Billion Dollar Reconstruction Challenge
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Colombia Influencer Dies After Cosmetic Procedure at Unlicensed Bogota Salon
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Harvard Astrophysicist to Lead U.S. Scientific Advisory on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
On the Island That Did Not Yield to Trump, There Is No Electricity, and 10 Million Live in Darkness
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Flight Instructor Jumped to His Death — Student Landed the Plane: "You Know What You Need to Do"
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Apple Advances Late-Stage Operating Systems with Fourth Beta Deployments
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
×