But Mexico argues the U.S. cannot legally change the Gulf's name because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dictates that an individual country's sovereign territory only extends up to 12 nautical miles out from the coastline.

Google Maps said it would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America once it is officially updated in the U.S. Geographic Names System.

The change will only be visible to U.S. users. Those in Mexico will still see “Gulf of Mexico,” while those in the rest of the world will see both names on the map.