Google Maps Lake America Name Change After Trump Lake Ontario Order 

Google Maps has started showing Lake America instead of Lake Ontario for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Great Lake. The change has created different map labels depending on where users access Google Maps. 

The Google Maps Lake America name change applies to users in the US, where the lake will now appear as Lake America. Users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, while people outside the US and Canada will see both names, according to Google. 

Google said the update reflects changes made to official US government geographic records. The US Geographic Names Information System, known as GNIS, sets the naming standards used for official US maps. The executive order affects those US records but does not change Canada’s naming conventions. 

The Lake Ontario renaming has drawn attention because the lake is shared by the United States and Canada. Canadian officials have rejected the new name, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford saying the province will continue to refer to the water body as Lake Ontario. 

The Google Maps Lake America name change follows a similar update involving the Gulf of Mexico. Google Maps changed the US label to “Gulf of America” after Trump issued an executive order renaming the body of water in 2025. 

The latest Lake Ontario renaming has also become part of wider tensions between the neighbouring countries. The dispute comes amid an ongoing trade conflict that has included tariffs on goods exchanged between the US and Canada. 

In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford unveiled a large lakeside sign reading “Lake Ontario: Now and Always” in English and French. The move highlighted the province’s opposition to the new US naming. 

Ontario officials have also begun reviewing government websites after the new label appeared on some sites using Google Maps data. Stephen Crawford, an Ontario minister, said agencies were checking their websites to ensure the lake continued to be identified as Lake Ontario. 

The Google Maps Lake America name change demonstrates how government naming decisions can quickly affect digital mapping services. While US users will see Lake America, Canadian users will retain Lake Ontario, creating different names for the same water body depending on location.