The Gulf of... Are we really doing this??

Donald Trump has not even been sworn into office yet and already we’re out here dealing with his threats against… landmasses and water body names.

Trump has been leaning into the role “Chief Troll” by inciting threats against the sovereignty of Canada, Greenland and Panama (all US-allied nations). His newest bit is to threaten to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”

It’s rage bait at the executive level, meant to get people talking about him and fighting with each other.

As a geographer, I find it particularly unnerving, and triggering my insatiable need to correct public conspiracies and falsities about my field.

Instead of fighting with strangers online, let’s take a look at how the Gulf of Mexico got its name, and what the process would hypothetically be in order to “change” it.

Etymology of “Mexico"

The name “Mexico” comes from the Nahuatl language of the Aztec and predates European colonization by several hundred years.