Google renames 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' for US users, but was the waterbody named after Mexico?

Google has renamed “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” for its US users on Google Maps, the tech giant has informed in a blogpost. The update follows an order by US President Donald Trump.

As a result, "people using Maps in the US will see 'Gulf of America' and people in Mexico will see 'Gulf of Mexico'", the blogpost read, adding, "Everyone else will see both names". 

"If you’re using Google Maps on the web, the names are based on the region you select in your Search settings or your device’s location, if you haven’t selected one," it stated. 

Soon after taking the oath of office, President Trump had last month signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and restoring the name of Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. Google had then taken to X saying the name change will apply "when they have been updated in official government sources".

The Google update has been implemented after the US's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) officially updated “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America". GNIS is US's federal and national standard for geographic nomenclature.

Why the 'Mexican' name?

The Gulf of Mexico is not a reference to the modern state of Mexico, but rather to a Native American city bearing the same moniker, and it has borne that name for more than 400 years. The name has been applied to the body of water since at least the late 16th century; the earliest such known reference being that of English geographer Richard Hakluyt's “Gulfe of Mexico” in The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589). 
Other names, including the “Gulf of New Spain” and the “Florida Sea,” appeared on maps and in publications over subsequent centuries.

The Gulf of Mexico borders around 1,700 miles of US coastline spanning Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as well as parts of Cuba and Mexico. Its oil and gas reserves, fisheries, ports and tourism opportunities make it a valuable resource in many ways.

The US, Mexico, and Cuba -- the nations with the most "control" over the Gulf of Mexico -- have for years shared the body of water over the gulf. It serves as an important centre of economic activity, including fishing, electricity generation, and shipping.

Despite the fact that the gulf is shared by multiple nations, Trump recently said that the US does the "most work" on the gulf, and insisted that the body of water should bear America's name "because it's ours."