MapQuest is letting you name the Gulf of Mexico whatever you want

Yes, MapQuest is still around.
 By 
Alex Perry
 on 
Man using MapQuest on a laptop
Blast from the past. Credit: JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images

Younger readers may not remember this, but Google Maps wasn't always the default way to look up how to get places.

Way back in the day, people would use paper maps, but there was an interim period for a while where a lot of people used a website called MapQuest. Well, MapQuest is not only still around, but we've actually got a reason to use it in 2025. Sort of. If you go to a special Gulf of Mexico-themed part of MapQuest, you can type in anything you want, and it'll generate a map that renames the Gulf of Mexico after whatever you typed in. For example:

MapQuest page displaying the "Gulf of MapQuest"
I had to, sorry. Credit: Screenshot: MapQuest

There's not really a lot more to say about this. You can name it whatever you want, which is also official U.S. government policy these days. All of this was brought on by the fact that some people have apparently decided the Gulf of Mexico is called something else now, and Google Maps actually complied and changed the name in that app. Apple did the same thing, too.


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Have fun, folks.

Topics Google

journalist alex perry looking at a smartphone
Alex Perry
Tech Reporter

Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.

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