Apple renames Lake Ontario 'Lake America' in Maps, following Google

Apple has changed the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” on Apple Maps, following Google’s lead less than a week after President Trump ordered the change. The switch appears only for Apple Maps users in the United States; users in Canada continue to see “Lake Ontario,” while users outside both countries see both names.

The change follows an executive order Trump signed on August 27 that gave the Interior Department 30 days to update the lake’s name — one of the five Great Lakes in North America — in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and other federal databases. 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.”

Apple did not respond to a request for comment. Google, which made the same change to Google Maps last week, said it updates names to reflect changes in official government sources such as GNIS.

Not every map service has followed suit. MapQuest said it will keep using “Lake Ontario,” the name people are familiar with — the same stance it took last year when it declined to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America.” That holdout appears to be paying off: downloads of MapQuest have surged, pushing its iOS app to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store’s Top charts, ahead of longtime chart leader ChatGPT as of September 1, and to the No. 6 overall position across apps and games on Google’s Play Store. MapQuest has leaned into the moment on social media, posting a GIF of an apple captioned “Them Too” and, alongside a screenshot of its chart position, writing: “The people have spoken. We are working.”

Apple’s and Google’s compliance also lands amid already strained relations between the U.S. and Canada, after trade talks between the two countries broke down. There is precedent for both companies deferring to Trump’s naming directives: last year, Apple and Google both renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” after a similar executive order.

Why it matters

The episode shows how quickly a niche consumer app can turn a political controversy into a measurable audience win, as MapQuest’s refusal to follow Apple and Google’s lead pushed it past ChatGPT in the U.S. App Store.