SAN JOSE (California, United States): Google has changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for US users of its Maps service after the US government unilaterally renamed the body of water, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Both names are displayed for users outside the United States.
The tech giant announced the change a few days ago, citing its “longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
The US Board on Geographic Names has officially renamed the body of water on the south coast of the US and east coast of Mexico on Monday, after US President Donald Trump ordered the relabelling in honour of “American greatness” shortly after coming into office.
The current name of the sea inlet on the southern coast of the US has been in use since the 16th century.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in response, said that “for us it will continue to be the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it will continue to be the Gulf of Mexico.”
The waters border not only the US states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, but also Mexico and Cuba. According to Trump’s decree, the name change applies to the area up to the maritime borders of Mexico and Cuba.
Users outside the US now see Gulf of Mexico first and Gulf of America in brackets next to it – similarly to other cases in which different countries use different names for the same geographical location.
“Also longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too,“ Google said.
