Gulf of Mexico&ndash;America naming dispute

Gulf of Mexico–America naming dispute

The name of a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean became a subject of dispute in 2025, when United States president Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14172 directing the interior secretary to officially change its name from the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America." The gulf had been known as the Gulf of Mexico since deriving its name from Mexica, the Nahuatl term for the Aztecs.
Background
For centuries, the Gulf of Mexico has been recognized by that name—derived from the term Mexica (the Nahuatl name for the Aztecs) and popularized on early European maps. The name became established in international cartography and legal usage by bodies such as the International Hydrographic Organization. The idea of renaming the gulf to the Gulf of America mainly surfaced from the United States. In 2010, comedian Stephen Colbert humorously suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, saying, "We broke it, we bought it." In 2011, Mississippi State Representative Steve Holland introduced a bill proposing the name change. The following year, Holland submitted a Bill to the Mississippi Legislature to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico—for all official uses within the state—to the Gulf of America.
Name change by President Trump
On January 7, 2025, then President-elect Donald Trump announced in a news conference at Mar-a-Lago club that he intended to rename the Gulf of Mexico. He mentioned: We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Gulf of America - what a beautiful name. And it's appropriate. We're going to change, because we do most of the work there, and it's ours. His announcement was followed by another by U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, that she would introduce a bill to officially change the name of the body of water, which runs from Mexico along the southern part of the United States. The bill was introduced to the House of Representatives on January 9, 2025.
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14172 directing the interior secretary to adopt the name Gulf of America, specifying an area of the US continental shelf "extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba." While the Interior Department confirmed that the Gulf of America name was effective for US federal agencies on January 24, the change did not apply in an international context. On February 9, 2025, the United States recognized that day as the first "Gulf of America Day."
Reactions
In the United States
Reactions among U.S. political figures and agencies have been mixed. Proponents of the renaming argue that it reinforces an "America First" agenda and reflects a renewed emphasis on national heritage. Several state officials from Gulf Coast states have at times supported the change in official documents. Since February 10, 2025, Google Maps and Google Earth have varied the name displayed for the Gulf based on device location settings. Apple Maps and Bing Maps have also changed their label for the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center has also done the same.
Polling by Marquette University found that among 1,018 respondents nationwide, 71% opposed the Gulf of America renaming and only 29% supported the name change, with another poll conducted by Harvard CAPS and The Harris Poll surveying 2,650 registered voters similarly finding 72% opposed the renaming while 28% supported it.
Various bodies and media outlets reacted to the federal action, with most remarking that common usage for the gulf would prevail. On February 11, the White House barred an Associated Press (AP) reporter from an event in the Oval Office over the AP's decision to continue using "Gulf of Mexico," which the AP executive editor Julie Pace condemned as a violation of its First Amendment rights.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision of the White House by stating: If we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable ... And it is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that but that is what it is.
International response
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum sarcastically countered President Trump by proposing to rename North America: Obviously the Gulf of Mexico is recognized by the United Nations... but why don't we call "Mexican America"? We're going to call it Mexican America....It sounds pretty, no? Isn’t it true? After Google Maps began showing the "Gulf of America" name, Sheinbaum threatened to sue Google, noting that United States sovereignty is limited to 22 nautical miles from the coast.
The United Kingdom does not recognize the new name for the Gulf of Mexico.<ref name=":2" />

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