'Beyond ridiculous': if you're seeing Lake Ontario renamed as Lake America on Google Maps, here's why

Lake Ontario is now Lake America in the US via an executive order Google Maps has updated its maps to reflect the change Viewing the map from outside the US still shows the original name Some 18 months on from the controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, another edit has been made to Google Map

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Lake Ontario is now Lake America in the US via an executive order</strong></li><li><strong>Google Maps has updated its maps to reflect the change</strong></li><li><strong>Viewing the map from outside the US still shows the original name</strong></li></ul><p>Some 18 months on from <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/google-maps-and-apple-maps-cant-agree-on-the-name-of-the-gulf-of-america-and-i-am-so-confused">the controversial renaming</a> of the Gulf of Mexico, another edit has been made to Google Maps at the behest of US President Donald Trump: Lake Ontario, spread across the US-Canadian border, is now Lake America.</p><p>Or rather, it is if you're viewing Google Maps from inside the US (via <a href="https://gizmodo.com/google-caves-to-trump-again-renames-lake-ontario-2000804763" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>) — the rest of the world will still see the Great Lake labeled as it has been since at least the 17th century. The name Ontario most likely comes from the Iroquoian word Kaniatarí:io or Oniatarí:io meaning "lake of shining waters" or "beautiful lake", as per Wikipedia.</p><p>The name change is the result of an executive order from the White House, as President Trump bickers with Canada over trade tariffs. In response, Canadian authorities have installed a large new sign at the lake (via the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpq09594vw7o" target="_blank">BBC</a>), reading 'Lake Ontario. Now and Always'.</p><p>Reactions on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/geography/comments/1w27hz8/google_maps_just_officially_updated_lake_ontario/" target="_blank">Reddit</a> are calling the switch "beyond ridiculous" and "braindead", though some commenters are pointing out that Google is obliged to follow the lead of the US Board on Geographic Names (part of the United States Geological Survey).</p><h2 id="google-responds">Google responds</h2><div class="see-more see-more--clipped"><figure><blockquote class="twitter-tweet hawk-ignore" data-lang="en" cite="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2093064058589086181"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New York won’t be calling it that. https://t.co/FJQonEk8tI<a href="https://twitter.com/cantworkitout/status/2093064058589086181">August 27, 2026</a></p></blockquote></figure><div class="see-more__filter"></div></div><p>For its part, Google has <a href="https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/gnis-lake-ontario-lake-america-name-change/" target="_blank">also chimed in</a> to say that it has to follow "official government sources" when it comes to place names, saying that "these updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now".</p><p>"People using Maps in the US will see 'Lake America', those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario', and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names," according to <a href="https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/gnis-lake-ontario-lake-america-name-change/" target="_blank">the official blog post</a> from Google Maps on the matter.</p><p>However, not everyone is towing the line on this: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul <a href="https://x.com/GovKathyHochul/status/2093064058589086181" target="_blank">took to social media</a> to declare that "New York won't be calling it [Lake America]", so there are going to be some pockets of resistance regarding the change.</p><p>As yet the change hasn't rolled out on Apple Maps, but presumably it'll eventually have to comply with the official government, and start renaming Lake Ontario depending on where in the world you're viewing the map from.</p> </article> ]]>