Apple has followed Google and changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on Apple Maps in the United States, less than a week after President Trump signed an executive order.
Apple Maps users in the United States now see Lake America, while users in Canada continue to see Lake Ontario. Users outside those two countries see both names.
The action responds to an executive order signed on Aug. 27 that directed the Department of the Interior to update the U.S. geographic naming service and other federal databases within 30 days. The order states, “In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake officially be renamed as Lake America.”
The directive, and the decision by Apple and Google to reflect the change, has added strain to relations with Canada after bilateral trade talks broke down earlier this month.
Lakbima News requested comment from Apple; the company did not reply. Google said in an announcement last week that it updates place names to reflect changes in official government sources, including the Geographic Names Information System, the federal database maintained for the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Not every mapping service has followed that approach. MapQuest issued a statement saying it would not change Lake Ontario on its maps and would continue to use the name most familiar to its users. The company noted it also did not change the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America after a similar directive last year.
Downloads of MapQuest rose sharply after the naming dispute. Apple App Store charts in the United States showed MapQuest’s iOS app reaching the top position for downloads on Sept. 1, ahead of ChatGPT. On Google Play, MapQuest ranked sixth overall among apps and games. MapQuest posted on its social feed a GIF of an apple with the caption “Them Too” and shared a screenshot of its app chart position with the comment, “The people have spoken. We are working.”
There is precedent for tech companies following federal naming updates: last year, after a similar order, both Apple and Google changed the Gulf of Mexico listing to Gulf of America in their mapping products.
