Apple has updated its Apple Maps website to rename Lake Ontario as Lake America in line with a recent executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump. This change by Apple on Tuesday came after Alphabet made a similar adjustment on Google Maps for U.S. users over the weekend. The alteration reflects the renaming of the lake in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System, following direct communication from Trump to Apple, as confirmed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
While users in the United States will now see “Lake America” on their maps, Canadian users will continue to see Lake Ontario, and the rest of the world will see both names, mirroring Apple’s approach after the Gulf of Mexico was renamed the Gulf of America by Trump previously. Google’s update caused some confusion in Canada, with temporary displays of the Lake America name on various websites.
The recent name changes highlight how U.S. tech companies are being drawn into geopolitical matters due to pressure from the Trump administration. Trump’s executive order impacts the lake’s federal usage in the U.S. but does not influence international or Canadian nomenclature for the lake. A Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that a majority of Americans oppose Trump’s decisions regarding Canadian trade and the renaming of Lake Ontario.
Following Trump’s order, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York Governor Kathy Hochul reaffirmed their commitment to the traditional name of Lake Ontario, which has been in use for over 400 years. Approximately 52% of Lake Ontario’s surface area lies within Canada, with the remainder in New York. Trump’s history of suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state has been met with dismissal by Canadian leaders. In a similar move in January 2025, Trump also renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, prompting adjustments by both Google and Apple on their map applications for U.S. users.