Depending where you open Google Maps, this gulf has a different name
"Gulf of Mexico" has been the name in international use since Spanish colonial cartography in the 1500s. In 2025 the U.S. federal government adopted "Gulf of America" for its own use. Both names are now live, simultaneously, on the same map products.
Gulf of Mexico
The name in continuous international use since the 1500s ("Golfo de México"). Mexico's government rejected the 2025 U.S. renaming, and most countries outside the U.S. continue to use this name.
Gulf of America
Ordered by President Trump's Executive Order 14172, signed January 20, 2025 — his first day back in office. The order directs U.S. federal agencies to use the new name; it applies to the U.S. side of the gulf, not Mexico's or Cuba's waters.
The clearest sign of the split: Google Maps itself. Since February 2025, Google Maps has shown "Gulf of America" to users located in the United States, "Gulf of Mexico" to users in Mexico, and "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" to everyone else — the same body of water, three different labels, depending on where the map is opened. Mexico's president said the country would pursue legal action against Google over the change.
Sources: Executive Order 14172, whitehouse.gov (Jan. 20, 2025); U.S. Department of the Interior Order No. 3423; Google's public statements on location-based map labeling; Mexican government statements. Country shapes: Natural Earth.