Google Maps now displays “Lake America” instead of Lake Ontario to users in the United States, turning a federal renaming order into a visible change on millions of screens.
Google said it follows its practice of using official government geographic names in the country where a user is viewing the service. Users outside the United States will continue to see Lake Ontario, according to Reuters.
The update is a new implementation of the federal naming decision, not a separate renaming. Canada continues to use Lake Ontario, the name long recognized internationally for the Great Lake shared by Ontario and New York.
Because map labels can vary by location, two people opening the same service in different countries may now see different names for the same body of water.
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