Google Maps has updated its label for Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users located in the United States. This change follows a presidential executive order issued last week. It is part of a broader trend, as Google Maps had previously rebranded the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” in February 2025.
These adjustments reflect ongoing efforts to align geographic names with national identity, sparking discussions on the implications of such changes in digital mapping services.
In an official blog post, Google explained that the updated naming convention appears differently depending on where the user is browsing from around the world. Canadian officials confirmed that their national cartography and official records will retain the historic title without alteration, according to a report by 9to5google.
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has formally changed the name for “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America” in the United States. Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see “Lake America,” those in Canada will continue to see “Lake Ontario,” and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names. The U.S. These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasised the centuries-old heritage behind the original phrasing.
Apple Maps has not yet applied the updated wording, though the company previously mirrored Google’s shift to “Gulf of America” within two days during the February 2025 revision. Meanwhile, competing service MapQuest reportedly stated that it will not adopt the change, rolling out an interactive custom name generator designed to let users invent alternative titles for the lake.