In a post on X, Google stated that it has a “longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” When the Geographic Names Information System, a government database of names and location data, is updated, the name will be changed. Additionally, Google will rename Mount McKinley, the nation’s highest peak, from Denali. Former President Barack Obama renamed the Alaska landmark to Denali in 2015 as a nod to the region’s native population. Both changes are a result of an executive action that Trump signed shortly after taking office.
Promoting our nation’s remarkable past and ensuring that future generations of Americans honor the legacy of our American heroes are in the best interests of the country, the executive order stated.
Obama’s choice to rename McKinley was denounced in the order as “an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice.” Similar to Trump, McKinley “supported tariffs” and was killed “in an attack on our Nation’s values and our success,” according to the order.
Additionally, Trump is “directing that it be renamed the Gulf of America” in recognition of the Gulf of Mexico’s economic benefits to the United States. All federal agency maps and documentation must “reflect its renaming,” according to the executive directive.