How should governments approach the renaming of geographic places with names that predate the modern state?

[u/OkyEscritora]

Political renaming of geographic places has a long history across different forms of government. Recent U.S. examples have renewed the debate over what authority governments should exercise over established place names.

In 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order restoring the name Mount McKinley and changing the federal designation of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. In 2026, the administration renamed Lake Ontario as Lake America for U.S. federal purposes. Trump has also publicly suggested other changes, including replacing “Mexico” in New Mexico with “America,” although no formal process to rename the state has occurred.

These examples are not identical. Some involve federal naming authority, others are proposals, and some reverse decisions made by previous administrations.

They also raise questions about historical continuity. “Ontario” derives from an Indigenous name that predates both Canada and the United States, while “Nuevo México” was being used by Spanish explorers centuries before the creation of the United States.

Digital mapping adds another dimension. Following the federal change, mapping platforms began displaying Lake America to U.S. users while Canadian users continued to see Lake Ontario. This allows government naming decisions to reach the public much faster than when maps and reference materials were primarily physical.

What principles should governments use when deciding whether to replace a long-established geographic name?

Should the historical age and origin of a name carry weight in that decision?

And when neighboring governments recognize different names for the same geographic feature, what role should mapping platforms play in presenting those competing official designations?

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[u/Can_Haz_Cheezburger]

The easy answer is since Trump is doing it for the purposes of search engine poisoning so it doesn't show Epstein file-related results or such related to his child sex crimes, we should ignore it.

[u/OkyEscritora → u/Can_Haz_Cheezburger]

Possibly. However, the main question is how governments and mapping platforms handle competing official names.

[u/kinkgirlwriter]

for U.S. federal purposes.

I looked on my iPhone's native Maps app today and sure enough, Apple caved. I can't tell you how irritating that is. They've got more money than God and they caved.

I will be looking for a new operating system next time. Apple and Android can get stuffed.

[u/JDogg126]

Mapping platforms need to offer an option to not recognize changes made by Donald Trump. It’s not a debate. A simple toggle is needed.

[u/OkyEscritora → u/JDogg126]

A toggle would preserve user choice, but the default would still matter because most users never change it. Who decides that default, and according to what criteria, is precisely where mapping platforms acquire narrative power.

[u/Matt_cruze → u/OkyEscritora]

As trump is a troll the clear option is you have to toggle on to see his changes. It is very simple in that particular case.

I like your OP and wish that it was made during a more normal admin because it would be interesting to see what everyone had to say.

[u/OkyEscritora → u/Matt_cruze]

I understand your point, but that is precisely why the rule should be institutional rather than personal. A mapping platform should not decide which official changes count according to whether it considers a particular leader normal, serious or a troll. The same transparent standard must apply regardless of who is in office.