On January 20, 2025, the newly elected United States President Donald Trump, signed executive order 14172 renaming the former Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Though countries such as Mexico and the United Kingdom have refused to recognize the change, some people in the United States, especially those of the conservative party, have accepted the new name. “I thought it was a great and pretty patriotic move by Trump and a move in the right direction for our country,” says Josh Fung ‘26.
Though some people have taken on the change, not all have been able to wrap their heads around the new name of the well known body of water. “When I was first told about this, I thought it was a joke, I thought that people were trying to prank me, and I wouldn’t believe it. And when I then went and looked it up, and I saw that Trump had passed a law to change the name, I was astonished,” says Kate Coletti ‘28.
The reason behind the renaming is that the former Gulf of Mexico has contributed a lot to the U.S. society in its early years and has become a very important landmass to the United States’ economy. In the early years, The Gulf contributed to fisheries, the maritime industry, and oil reserves which helped with the United States early trade and global commerce.
“The Gulf of America is one of the, if not, most important bodies of water next to the United States. Because the Mississippi River follows into the Gulf of America, almost every city in the midwest is reliant on the Gulf of America being easily accessible and safe. If not, American trade would be hurt dramatically and trillions of dollars of the GDP would be lost” says Henrik Maansson ‘27. The Gulf
is a very important body of water to the United States and without it, our economy would struggle greatly.
Though some think that this is a logical reason for the name to be changed, some people think otherwise. “The West Indies were a big contributor to the US economy because of the influx of enslaved Africans and raw materials being imported into the country, yet we don’t call the Caribbean Sea the ‘American Sea’”, said Maya Dobson ‘28.
President Trump, as stated in the executive order, decided to rename the gulf, along with renaming the highest peak in North America with intentions to “restore names that honor American greatness” as said in the executive order.
The executive order suggests that mapping companies such as Google maps should change the name of the Gulf of Mexico on their maps. Since map users are from all over the country with different political views on subjects, to settle those disputes, mapping companies only change the name to Gulf of America for the Americans. Map users in Mexico still see the Gulf of Mexico, and map users in other countries outside of the US and Mexico will see both names.
“It makes sense why Google is doing this; it is in order to make sure their users in Mexico don’t stop using the app. However, because most of the rest of the world will see both and the United States just being a more powerful country, other people in foreign nations will start to use just one name, the Gulf of America,” said Henrik Maansson ‘27. Though Google Maps made the name more inclusive, some think that the new name will become more universal due to the United States influence by being one of the most powerful countries.
Though some think that the new name will become more well-known, others disagree. “I think it should be kept under the same universal name that everyone has known their entire life, the Gulf of Mexico,” said Kate Coletti ‘28. Even though the Trump administration made this change, it is not supported by everyone and some people think that it should stay under one name such as the previous name Gulf of Mexico.
Though there can be negative and positive thoughts on the topic of changing the name “a broader assessment of Trump’s effectiveness in office should be dictated off of a broader scope of his presidency and not just cherry-picked decisions” said Josh Fung ‘26. Political decisions should be made based on the overall effectiveness of the presidency and not based on small, possibly insignificant, decisions.
