Lake Ontario now ‘Lake America’ on Google Maps in the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” on August 27.

Since then, Google Maps has changed the name of the lake depending on which side of the border you’re on.

The Lake Ontario label changes depending on where you’re based.

• Canadian users will see Lake Ontario
• US users will see Lake America
• Everyone else will see Lake Ontario (Lake America)

This is a similar approach to what Google did when Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. Google says that its policy is to use the name assigned by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).

How the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Lake Ontario/Lake America name change in the US will appear on Google Maps pic.twitter.com/nFw80TwaqH

— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) August 30, 2026

Apple Maps, on the other hand, hasn’t yet made any changes. Apple Maps did change Gulf of America, though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a similar update with Lake America, but I’m hoping that Apple stands up against the man.

Le nom du lac Ontario tire son origine du mot wendat « Ontari’io », qui signifie « le lac est beau, le lac est grand ».

Ce nom remonte à plus de 400 ans, bien avant la Confédération canadienne et la Déclaration d’indépendance des États-Unis d’Amérique.

Nous savons que les…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 27, 2026

Of course, we at MobileSyrup would never call it Lake America and will be sticking with Lake Ontario. Most people in the country have made fun of Trump, and thankfully our government continues to support the true Canadian lake title ‘Lake Ontario.’

It’s Lake Ontario, now and always. pic.twitter.com/KNahtPAMeJ

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) August 29, 2026

Source: Google Blog