Apple Maps has joined Google Maps in renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for users in the United States, but one major mapping service has decided not to follow the same path.
MapQuest is sticking with the name Lake Ontario, even as Apple and Google have updated their U.S. map services following President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the lake.
Apple Maps users in the U.S. will now see “Lake America” when searching for the Great Lake through the website or app. Users in Canada will continue to see Lake Ontario, while people accessing Apple Maps from other countries will see both names.
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The change follows an executive order Trump signed on Aug. 27 directing the Interior Department to update the lake’s name in the U.S. Geographic Names Information System and other federal databases. The order argued that the renamed lake would reflect its importance to the U.S. economy and the country’s history.
Google had already made the switch, explaining that its maps generally reflect geographic names listed in official government sources, including the U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System.
Apple has now taken a similar approach.
MapQuest, however, has chosen a different route.
The mapping service continues to identify the body of water as Lake Ontario rather than adopting “Lake America.” MapQuest also kept the name Gulf of Mexico instead of changing it to “Gulf of America” after Trump ordered that change last year.
That decision has unexpectedly turned MapQuest into a major talking point online.
Downloads of the longtime mapping app have surged in the U.S., pushing MapQuest to the No. 1 spot in Apple’s App Store navigation rankings. By September 1, the app had even moved ahead of ChatGPT in the overall U.S. App Store charts.
MapQuest also climbed to No. 6 overall on Google Play when apps and games were combined.
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The company appears to be embracing the attention rather than backing away from its decision. MapQuest posted a GIF featuring an apple alongside the words “Them Too,” seemingly taking a swipe at Apple’s decision to adopt the new name.
In another post celebrating its rise to the top of the App Store rankings, MapQuest wrote, “The people have spoken. We are working.”
For now, Apple and Google have followed the U.S. government’s naming change, while MapQuest is continuing to use the name familiar to people on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. That difference has turned what might have been a routine map update into an unexpected boost for one of the internet’s oldest mapping services.