Google has announced that it will restore the name Mount McKinley for North America’s highest peak and rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on its Maps app, following executive orders issued by Donald Trump.
“We have a longstanding policy of updating names in accordance with official government sources,” a Google spokesperson said on Monday.
The company stated that the changes align with its practice of following US government geographic designations through the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and will take effect once the GNIS is updated.
Shortly after his inauguration on January 20, Trump signed executive orders reversing previous naming decisions. The first order reinstates the Mount McKinley name, overturning former President Barack Obama’s 2015 decision to officially recognize Denali—the name used by Alaska Natives for centuries.
The second order renames the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” citing its significance to US oil production, fishing, and tourism. The new term was quickly adopted by the US Coast Guard in a press release on immigration enforcement and was later used by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis while addressing a winter storm.
These changes have sparked criticism from indigenous groups in Alaska, who have long advocated for retaining the Denali name and have raised diplomatic concerns with Mexico.
In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum jokingly suggested renaming the United States as “Mexican America,” referencing historical maps from before 1848, when the US annexed a significant portion of Mexico’s territory.
Google clarified that users outside the United States will continue to see both the original and new names for the Gulf of Mexico and Denali, as is standard practice for disputed locations.
