
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America in all of their documentation, including maps, forms, social media posts, and internal communications, in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order (titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”) on Jan. 20, the agency said in a press release.
The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which determines name changes, and the Federal Aviation Administration officially recognized the change on Feb. 10 and an executive order was subsequently signed by FWC Executive Director Roger Young on Feb. 25.
The National Weather Service has also adopted the name in official communications and mapping.
Although agencies are implementing the name change, that doesn’t actually change the text of Florida law. Two bills currently working their way through the Florida Legislature would amend dozens of state statutes to the updated name.
Google also updated Google Maps for users in the United States to reflect the change from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Users in Mexico will see the name as Gulf of Mexico.