'Beyond ridiculous': if you're seeing Lake Ontario renamed as Lake America on Google Maps, here's why

Date:
Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:24:24 +0000

Description:
After an executive order from the White House, Google Maps is relabeling the Great Lake in its apps.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Lake Ontario is now Lake
America in the US via an executive order Google Maps has updated its maps to reflect the change Viewing the map from outside the US still shows the original name Some 18 months on from the controversial renaming of the Gulf
of Mexico, another edit has been made to Google Maps at the behest of US President Donald Trump: Lake Ontario, spread across the US-Canadian border,
is now Lake America.

Or rather, it is if you're viewing Google Maps from inside the US (via
Gizmodo ) the rest of the world will still see the Great Lake labeled as it has been since at least the 17th century. The name Ontario most likely comes from the Iroquoian word Kaniatar:io or Oniatar:io meaning "lake of shining waters" or "beautiful lake", as per Wikipedia. The name change is the result of an executive order from the White House, as President Trump bickers with Canada over trade tariffs. In response, Canadian authorities have installed a large new sign at the lake (via the BBC ), reading 'Lake Ontario. Now and Always'. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Reactions on Reddit are calling the switch "beyond ridiculous" and "braindead", though some commenters are pointing out that Google is obliged
to follow the lead of the US Board on Geographic Names (part of the United States Geological Survey). Google responds New York wont be calling it that. https://t.co/FJQonEk8tI August 27, 2026 For its part, Google has also chimed in to say that it has to follow "official government sources" when it comes
to place names, saying that "these updates follow our long-standing policy
for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now". You may like Apple Maps users rebel against new
ads that you can't turn off Trump hits back at New York's data center ban, says rule should change 'immediately' Google is building three huge new
subsea cables to connect North, Central and South America

"People using Maps in the US will see 'Lake America', those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario', and those outside of the US and Canada will see both names," according to the official blog post from Google Maps on the matter.

However, not everyone is towing the line on this: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul took to social media to declare that "New York won't be calling it [Lake America]", so there are going to be some pockets of resistance regarding the change. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
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As yet the change hasn't rolled out on Apple Maps, but presumably it'll eventually have to comply with the official government, and start renaming Lake Ontario depending on where in the world you're viewing the map from. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/internet/beyond-ridiculous-if-youre-seeing -lake-ontario-renamed-as-lake-america-on-google-maps-heres-why


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