Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' for U.S. users after presidential order
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Apple updated its Maps app to show "Lake America" for U.S. users following a Trump administration directive, while the lake retains its traditional name for users outside the United States.
Apple Maps now displays the name "Lake America" for U.S. users viewing the body of water that borders New York and Ontario, Canada. The change aligns with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that directed the Interior Department to revise the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming database. Users in Canada and other countries continue to see the historic name "Lake Ontario."
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News that the president had contacted Apple directly about the renaming.
Google Maps implemented the same update over the weekend, citing its policy of using names from the U.S. Geographic Names Information System. The company said the new label will appear for U.S. users, while Canadian users will still see "Lake Ontario" and international users may see both names.
"People using Maps in the U.S. will see 'Lake America,' those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario,' and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names," Google said.
Canadian officials rejected the change. Ontario Premier Doug Ford posted on social media that the lake will remain "Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world, now and forever." Prime Minister Mark Carney also opposed the renaming, noting the name's Indigenous origins.
"It's Lake Ontario to Canadians and the rest of the world. Now and forever," Ford wrote.
"The name Lake Ontario comes from the Huron Indigenous people's word 'oniatarí:io,' meaning 'lake of shining waters,'" Carney said.
The move follows a previous Trump directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which was also reflected in Apple and Google maps. However, not all mapping services have adopted the change; MapQuest has chosen to retain the original name and offers users the option to customize it.