Google Maps leaves people confused after officially renaming the Gulf of Mexico

Most people wouldn’t put renaming the Gulf of Mexico high up on a priority list for America, but the change has now come into effect following President Donald Trump's executive order.

Since his return to The White House for his second term, Donald Trump has been incredibly busy signing executive orders left and right.

Ranging from banning transgender women participating in women's sport to 'ridiculous' paper straws, his plans for the US have sparked a number of discussions, however, one has officially come into practice.

From his inaugural speech, the businessman made his intentions clear to change The Gulf of Mexico's name to 'The Gulf of America', continuing to push his motto of 'Making America Great Again'.

Donald Trump insisted changes would be made to have the Gulf of Mexico renamed (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

Speaking about the name change in his speech, he said: "America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."

In an executive order he signed not long after becoming President, the Gulf was described as 'an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America', as well as 'a crucial artery for America’s early trade and global commerce'.

Despite objection from Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the Trump administration announced that the name change was now official.

Google then confirmed they would make the change on Google Maps, but what name that was displayed would depend on the viewer's location.

However, this is still causing confusion on social media as some people were unaware that their location factors in, while others who live in the US said it doesn’t appear solely as the Gulf of America.

This is what Google has claimed will appear for users searching for the Gulf of Mexico depending on their geographical location (Google)

One person on Reddit said: "I’m in Georgia, USA and my Google maps app says gulf of America," adding: "If I zoom out really far it changes back to Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)."

Another said: "In Brazil it’s still showing up as only Golfo do Mexico," while someone else wrote: "Same here (Germany): it says Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America). Apple maps still just says Gulf of Mexico and nothing else."

In a press release, the tech company said: “In the U.S., the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) has officially updated ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America.’ People using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names."

A Google spokesperson also explained in a statement why they are updating the name, adding: "We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.

“When that happens, we will update Google Maps in the US quickly to show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America. Also longstanding practice: When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name.

“Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here too.”