The water in the Gulf of Mexico appears bluer than usual off of East Beach, Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Galveston, Texas. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)2025-01-23T06:38:37Z Whats in a name change, after all?The water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba will be critical to shipping lanes and vacationers whether its called the Gulf of Mexico, as it has been for four centuries, or the Gulf of America, as President Donald Trump ordered this week. North Americas highest mountain peak will still loom above Alaska whether its called Mt. Denali, as ordered by former President Barack Obama in 2015, or changed back to Mt. McKinley as Trump also decreed.But Trumps territorial assertions, in line with his America First worldview, sparked a round of rethinking by mapmakers and teachers, snark on social media and sarcasm by at least one other world leader. And though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put the Trumpian Gulf of America on an official document and some other gulf-adjacent states were considering doing the same, it was not clear how many others would follow Trumps lead. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum joked that if Trump went ahead with the renaming, her country would rename North America Mexican America. On Tuesday, she toned it down: For us and for the entire world it will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico. The politics of maps are undeniableMap lines are inherently political. After all, theyre representations of the places that are important to human beings and those priorities can be delicate and contentious, even more so in a globalized world. Theres no agreed-upon scheme to name boundaries and features across the Earth.Denali is the mountains preferred name for Alaska Natives, while McKinley is a tribute to President William McKinley, designated in the late 19th century by a gold prospector. China sees Taiwan as its own territory, and the countries surrounding what the United States calls the South China Sea have multiple names for the same body of water. The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of Gulf and Arabian Gulf is dominant in many countries in the Middle East. The government of Iran formerly Persia threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the companys decision not to label the body of water at all on its maps. Many Arab countries dont recognize Israel and instead call it Palestine. And in many official releases, Israel calls the occupied West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria. Americans and Mexicans diverge on what to call another key body of water, the river that forms the border between Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Americans call it the Rio Grande; Mexicans call it the Rio Bravo.Trumps executive order titled Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness concludes thusly: It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes. The naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nations rich past. But what to call the gulf with the 3,700-mile coastline? It is, I suppose, an internationally recognized sea, but (to be honest), a situation like this has never come up before so I need to confirm the appropriate convention, said Peter Bellerby, who said he was talking over the issue with the cartographers at his London company, Bellerby & Co. Globemakers. If, for instance, he wanted to change the Atlantic Ocean to the American Ocean, we would probably just ignore it.For some, its decision timeAs of Wednesday night, map applications for Google and Apple still called the mountain and the gulf by their old names. Spokespersons for those platforms did not immediately respond to emailed questions.A spokesperson for National Geographic, one of the most prominent map makers in the U.S., said this week that the company does not comment on individual cases and referred questions to a statement on its web site, which reads in part that it strives to be apolitical, to consult multiple authoritative sources, and to make independent decisions based on extensive research. National Geographic also has a policy of including explanatory notes for place names in dispute, citing as an example a body of water between Japan and the Korean peninsula, referred to as the Sea of Japan by the Japanese and the East Sea by Koreans. In discussion on social media, one thread noted that the Sears Tower in Chicago was renamed the Willis Tower in 2009, though its still commonly known by its original moniker. Pennsylvanias capital, Harrisburg, renamed its Market Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard and then switched back to Market Street several years later with loud complaints both times. In 2017, New Yorks Tappan Zee Bridge was renamed for the late Gov. Mario Cuomo to great controversy. The new name appears on maps, but no one calls it that, noted another user. Are we going to start teaching this as the name of the body of water? asked one Reddit poster on Tuesday.I guess you can tell students that SOME PEOPLE want to rename this body of water the Gulf of America, but everyone else in the world calls it the Gulf of Mexico, came one answer. Cover all your bases they know the reality-based name, but also the wannabe name as well.Wrote another user: Ill call it the Gulf of America when Im forced to call the Tappan Zee the Mario Cuomo Bridge, which is to say never. LAURIE KELLMAN Kellman has covered U.S. politics and foreign affairs for the Associated Press, including 23 years reporting from Washington and three from Jerusalem. She is based in London. twitter facebook mailto