Earlier this month at his Mar-A-Lago resort, President Donald Trump announced that he is going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” adding say that “it has a nice ring to it.”
Last week, during his first full day in office, he signed an executive order making that idea a reality. The order hopes to restore “names that honor greatness.”
Though he might not have the power to change the name of the gulf he is still going to try to do so. In response, The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, says that the world will still call it the Gulf of Mexico.
“A short time from now,” President Donald Trump says, “we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”
Trump signed an executive order on Monday requiring the federal government to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” on official maps.
Jaymeson Green argues that “Trump can’t just change the name of a cultural landmark.”
Renaming geographical places is a job for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The federal office has the power to rename geographic places within the United States but the Gulf of Mexico is not only on the coast of the U.S it is also on the coast of Mexico. The government also discourages name changes unless there is a compelling reason.
The Board on Geographic Names says on its website that “Changing an existing name merely to correct or re-establish historical usage should not be a primary reason to change a name.”
The Google Earth website says that “If different countries dispute the proper name for a body of water, our policy is to display both names, with each label placed closer to the country or countries that use it.”
According to the executive order Trump issued, the name change should go into effect within 30 days. As of Tuesday, Google has stated it will change the names on its Maps app.