Google and Apple Renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America.” MapQuest Didn’t, and Became North America’s No. 1 App

02 Sep 2026, 18:30 by Jerome London · Thought Catalog

Updated 47 seconds ago, September 2, 2026

MapQuest usage is running roughly 50 times higher than it was a week ago, according to a company press release Tuesday.

The surge started after Trump signed an executive order rebranding Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” floated last week because “we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.” It’s the same move he made on his first day back in office, when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

Google Maps and Apple Maps fell in line. Google says U.S. users see “Lake America” while Canadians still see “Lake Ontario,” and Apple made the switch Tuesday. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Fox that Trump reached out to Apple directly.

A man, child, and golden retriever pause beside the bilingual ‘Lake Ontario — Now and Always’ sign unveiled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Fifty Point Conservation Area near Grimsby, Ontario, on August 29, 2026. Photo by Carlos Osorio / Reuters.

MapQuest, which launched in 1996 and hasn’t been relevant since GPS units took over car dashboards, said no. “We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they’re familiar with,” general manager Doug Berger said. The company also built a tool that lets users rename the lake to whatever they want.

By Tuesday afternoon it sat at No. 1 free on Apple’s App Store, past ChatGPT and ESPN Fantasy Sports, and No. 8 on Google Play. New downloaders get to pick an avatar, including a unicorn or a wizard holding a fireball.

Even Eric Trump took a swing: “Shocking to see you’re still alive… I thought the iPhone 3 took you out 15 years ago,” he wrote on X.

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