A Nostalgic Comeback

MapQuest, the online mapping service that defined road trips in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is experiencing a remarkable resurgence. As of Tuesday afternoon, MapQuest had become the No. 1 free app on Apple's App Store in the , overtaking ChatGPT and ESPN Fantasy Sports, according to CP24. It also ranked No. 8 for free apps on Google Play. Another report from com placed MapQuest as the fourth-most-downloaded free program on Apple's App Store in the , the most-downloaded Apple app in Canada, and the 21st most popular free app on Google Play Store, according to AppFigures.

Refusing the Rename

The surge follows MapQuest's public stance against the Trump administration's executive order, issued Thursday, which immediately renamed the easternmost Great Lake — the body of water between New York and Ontario — as 'Lake America' in the federal government's official database of place names. MapQuest wrote several posts stating it would continue to label the lake as 'Lake Ontario.' The company also launched a tool that lets users rename the lake to whatever they want, as reported by CP24.

Doug Berger, MapQuest's general manager, said in a press release: "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." In another statement, Berger added, "People spoke with their downloads. They want a mapping app with names they're familiar with." MapQuest said its app usage is roughly 50 times higher compared to a week ago, according to both com and CP24.

The Broader Mapping Context

The renaming of Lake Ontario is part of a pattern. In 2025, after a similar executive order, Apple and Google both updated their map labels to rename the Gulf of Mexico as 'Gulf of America.' For the current lake renaming, Google Maps changed the name for American users on Sunday, stating that people using Maps in the S. will see 'Lake America,' while those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario.' Apple Maps changed the lake's name to Lake America on Tuesday, though some users still reported seeing Lake Ontario, according to CP24. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News on Monday that Trump "has reached out to Apple directly" and that app updates could come "coming soon." Apple Maps had kept the Ontario moniker up to that point, as noted by com.

MapQuest's Legacy and Renewed Popularity

MapQuest started in 1996 and became popular before smartphones were widespread, allowing users to print turn-by-turn directions before hitting the road. Its popularity waned as GPS-enabled phones rose, with Google Maps surpassing it by 2008, according to com. The platform told Business Insider it initially decided to keep the Gulf of Mexico's name "as a joke about being so old we don't know how to update our maps." Now, MapQuest is embracing its throwback status, leaning into nostalgia and whimsy with avatars like a unicorn or a wizard holding a fireball, as reported by CP24. The response has drawn attention on social media, including a TikTok user who proclaimed "MapQuest is that girl," applauding the company for "having a backbone," and a quip from Eric Trump on X: 'Shocking to see you're still alive… I thought the iPhone 3 took you out 15 years ago.'