President Donald J Trump signed Executive Order 14172 on January 20, 2025, to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This decision aims to “restore American pride in the history of American Greatness.”
The renaming has sparked mixed reactions, with some supporting the change to emphasize national heritage, while others strongly oppose it. A significant number of Americans, around 71-72 percent, are against the name change, according to polls conducted by Marquette University and Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll
It’s worth noting that the Mexican government and several American journalism companies have refused to adopt the new name. Additionally, the renaming has been criticized as a potentially racist move, especially given Trump’s recent policies on deportation
In terms of practical implications, the name change only applies to federal agencies, and private companies or foreign entities are not compelled to use the new name. Google Maps, Google Earth, Apple Maps, and Bing Maps have started using the new name, but MapQuest has refused to make the change
A political science professor at Michigan State University put his thoughts out and said, “Internationally, there have always been differences among countries about what to name specific bodies of water, islands, etc.” “Names reflect culture, history, and identity, so the disagreements between countries on what to refer to as a place are real.” He proceeded to end his speech saying, “The core of the issue is political rather than legal.” Matthew Zieler was one of many people who spoke up and used their voice to defend those offended by the renaming.
Many companies, such as Google, decided to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. As users search for the name, the updated one will pop up. On the other hand, many American journalism companies won’t be changing their name.
“It simply comes down to the American president’s lack of authority to rename geographic points that lie outside U.S. boundaries and territories,” The Los Angeles Times said.
They also made it very clear that they won’t be referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Although this renaming is unnecessary, it does offend a lot of people.
