Gulf of America is not Recognized Internationally

Super fact 130 : Gulf of America is not Recognized Internationally. The United Nations does not recognize the name “Gulf of America,” and continues to use the internationally established name Gulf of Mexico. The name “Gulf of America” applies only to the domestic agencies of the United States.

An aerial view of the Gulf of Mexico with the label “Whatchamacallit” in red. | Gulf of America is not Recognized Internationally
Aerial view of the gulf. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, GPL <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>, via Wikimedia Commons. I added the label “Whatchamacallit”.

The U.S. executive order renaming the body of water only applies within the United States and its federal agencies. International organizations and hydrographic groups, such as the International Hydrographic Organization, continue to officially recognize the historical name, the Gulf of Mexico. The UN (towards bottom) and global news organizations such as the AP will continue to use the name Gulf of Mexico.

Countries bordering the Gulf of Mexico / Gulf of America, including Mexico, do not recognize the name change. English speaking countries such as the UK continues to call it the Gulf of Mexico. You can read more about the UK stance here. In non-English speaking countries such as my native country Sweden, the Gulf is called something that translates to the “Gulf of Mexico”. In Swedish, the Gulf is called “Mexikanska golfen”, and it is the name that appears in media, on maps, and typically in speech.

The Geographic Names Information System (a US federal database) and US federal agencies adopted the name Gulf of America, and Google maps and Apple maps adopted the  new name in the US. If you switch country, it may say Gulf of Mexico, or Gulf of Mexico or other local name followed by (Gulf of America), i.e., Gulf of America in parenthesis. MapQuest and OpenStreetMap chose not to adopt the name “Gulf of America” at all.

The six minutes and 43 seconds long video below by the mapping company World Maps Online explain why they did not adopt the name “Gulf of America”. In short, it is because they follow the UN naming conventions (at 5:40 in the video). Earlier in the video it is explained that the renaming only applies to the US continental shelf area, not the entire body of water, yes, even in the US the entire gulf was not renamed. The video also explains that naming conflicts are common and that there is no global authority that can resolve them and therefore the International Hydrographic Organization, the leading international map naming organization uses numbers instead of names. You are naturally free to listen to the whole video, but I am starting it 5 minutes in.

I have become aware that many Americans now incorrectly believe that the new name Gulf of America is “official” everywhere and therefore they go around trying to correct people. It is an important fact that is widely misunderstood and therefore I consider it a super fact.

My Personal Encounter with the Gulf of Mexico vs Gulf of America Controversy

I write beer reviews in various places, and I administer several Facebook beer review groups. When I said I was vacationing by the Gulf of Mexico in one of the Facebook beer groups that I administrate, two guys I have never seen posting anything in the group demanded that I change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. I explained that this beer group is international. There are people from Germany, Sweden, France, Mexico, Canada, China, as well as US, posting in the group, so using a more internationally recognized name is just practical. I was not trying to make a point, which was true.

However, I can add that the name Gulf of America does not seem to be very popular even in the US. A February 2025 poll by Marquette University found that, among 1,018 respondents nationwide, 71% opposed renaming the Gulf of Mexico and only 29% supported the name change. So, the people who lecture others about using Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico should maybe reconsider.

Origins of the name Gulf of Mexico

The name “Gulf of Mexico” is derived from the ethnonym Mexica referring to the Nahuatl-speaking people of the Valley of Mexico also known as the Aztecs. The name “Gulf of Mexico” has been in use since the 1550s and is internationally recognized.

Lake Ontario versus Lake America

A similar situation exists with Lake Ontario. A US executive order has been issued to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. However, this is not internationally recognized. As mentioned, a country can rename an international body of water for its own domestic agencies, but that change has no binding legal effect on other nations or international bodies.

As with the Gulf of Mexico the old and internationally used name “Lake Ontario” is derived from indigenous languages. The name Ontario is likely derived from the Iroquoian word Kaniatarí:io or Oniatarí:io meaning “lake of shining waters” or “beautiful lake”. It has been in use since at least 1641.

This is a map of the five great lakes. I added the name “Lake Whatchamacallit” in red with a red arrow to indicate which of the lakes I am referring to.
Lake Ontario is now called Lake America in the US. This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons from this Wikipedia location. I updated it by adding Lake Whatchamacallit.

I can add that our President has also issued an executive order changing the name Denali (also indigenous name) to Mount McKinley. However, this is in Alaska, which is US sovereign territory and a bit different. He can do that. Another situation exists with the proposed renaming of New Mexico to New America. New Mexico happens to be written into the New Mexico constitution, making an official name change beyond the President’s power. I can also add that Like the Gulf, the region historically known as Nuevo Mexico was named for the valley, not for the country or even the Spanish province of Mexico. Nuevo Mexico was probably named circa 1560 to 1580 and first appeared on maps in the early 1590s.

What About Renaming Canada Geese to Donald Ducks?

Finally, a little joke

Five Canada Geese by a lake. They have yellow hair on top of their heads.
Can Canada Geese be renamed to Donald Ducks? Asking for a President. I generated the picture with the help of ChatGPT.
To see the other Super Facts click here

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

68 thoughts on “Gulf of America is not Recognized Internationally”

  3. The whole situation seems ridiculous, and an insult to the indigenous people who named these places. As someone who lives right on the Lake Ontario shore, I am particularly incensed.

    Fun cartoon! 😆 Trump has used a similar one, but the geese were armed with machine guns. 😜

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    1. I don’t blame you for being incensed. Never mind that it blows the old elementary school mnemonic for the Great Lakes from H(uron) O(ntario) M(ichigan) E(rie) S(uperior) to HAMES. I was born in a city along the shore of Lake Superior. He-who-shall-not-be-named ought to keep his grubby paws off the Great Lakes.

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      2. We had a similar mnemonic for the Great Lakes in Sweden too but I don’t remember what it was. In any case, trying to change the name on a whim of places that are several hundred years old and has cultural ties is not particularly sensible.

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    2. Yes you are right Debbie. I can certainly understand that you are incensed. It is just terrible as well illogical and childish the way we treat Canadians right now. But it continues to be Lake Ontario outside of US federal agencies, and will probably blow over at some point. Not everyone understand this though.

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  6. Thomas, thank you for explaining this amd.mote – this is a fascinating reminder that place names carry history, politics, and identity, and that what is “official” in one country may mean something quite different internationally. I especially enjoyed the unexpected Lake Ontario comparison… and the Canada geese question made me smile 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Patricia. You are right. We should not forget that place names often have a long history and probably should not be changed on a whim, and that one country changing the name of an international body of water does not make it apply to the rest of the world.

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  7. I’m surprised most people don’t know this. There is no international naming committee for geologic landmarks–thank goodness! Worse–certain groups rename women “birthing persons” and think that’s fine. I get to disagree!

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    1. Thank you Jacqui. I should say that I don’t have a survey or poll but based on the number of comments I’ve seen it seems like a lot of people are getting this wrong, thinking that one country changing the name of an international body of water would make it “official” everywhere. Renaming women “birthing persons” is just horrrible. I’ve seen that too.

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  8. Your quip about Donald ducks is funny. I think he’d take it 🦆. I do not believe in renaming places. It is a ridiculous waste of money. So many places in South Africa have been renamed and it costs millions. That money could be far better spent in a country like this one where there is so much unemployment.

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  9. Good to know about the restrictions on naming places like this. I’ll never call anything xxx (I’ll never say that name either) changes to something else. And hopefully someday someone sane will change everything back to normal, getting rid of the stench that is there now.

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  11. Don’t we consider the source when making claims anymore.. ?! I like this: ~!! ” Can Canada Geese be renamed to Donald Ducks? Asking for a President. I generated the picture with the help of ChatGPT.
    Whew… thanks for the update.. crazy just got crazier Thomas!!!!!
    How about the gulf of quacks as a tried and true name. xxx

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    1. Ha ha that is a funny name. The renaming controversy is pretty wild and often missunderstood. It is just good to know that when someone is demanding that you use what they think is the correct name (Gulf of America / Lake America) you can completely ignore them unless you are a US federal employee.

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  12. Not only is New Mexico the name granted in the state’s constitution, the name is almost as old as the Gulf of Mexico. Like the Gulf, the region historically known as Nuevo Mexico was named for the valley, not for the country or even the Spanish province of Mexico. Nuevo Mexico was probably named circa 1560 to 1580 and first appeared on maps in the early 1590s.

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  15. Lulu: “When our Dada saw that meme about renaming Canada geese to ‘Donald Ducks’ his immediate reaction was ‘Hmm, well, Canada geese do have a severe attitude problem, show up where they’re not wanted and refuse to leave, and spread crap everywhere they go, so …..’, which I guess means he would be on board with that name change, at least.”Java Bean: “Ayyy, it would never stick though. We have met them at the park and Canada geese are way too opinionated to let somebody rename them. They don’t even let you look at them funny.”

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    1. I think you are exactly right. I also get a lot of people who want to engage everyone in the group(s) with their posts using questions like “what beer are you drinking while watching the football game tonight”, and they are referring to an unnamed NFL or college football game (American football not what is called soccer in the US). Never mind that the audience is 80-90% non-American and have no clue what he is talking about. It is typically people who never pay attention to the other people in the group.

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      1. Yeah, I see a lot of that on social media. I have Canadian friends on there that will post about Thanksgiving and the comments will have a lot of Americans saying it’s not Thanksgiving yet or something along those lines. It’s best to ignore them and move on because they rarely think outside of what is the norm for them.

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        1. Yes that must be really annoying to Canadians. People assuming that everyone should be exactly like them. It happens a lot with Americans due to size and influence of country and English being the biggest second language. However, I remember in Sweden (my native country) there was a couple vacationing in Spain who complained to the tourist company that the Spaniards weren’t speaking Swedish.

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          1. That’s so interesting, I guess they expected everyone to speak Swedish in Sweden. Sometimes tourists say the same about Kenya because although Swahili is our national language most people speak English especially at tourist areas.

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            1. Yes I realized that in many countries around the world people speak English. When I went on business trip to India I was surprised to find out that almost everyone spoke English, at least in Bangalore. But it is certainly not something you can expect.

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  20. I keep being reminded of an old episode of X-Files featuring a character named Pusher who has the psychic ability to make people follow his instructions (like a less powerful version of Kilgrave). He ends up taking a hospital wing hostage and starts issuing demands which are granted, prompting a mystified SWAT officer to say, “Why do we keep giving this guy exactly what he wants?”

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