Why do I make a big deal about the Gulf of Mexico? Because changing the name is trying to change the history as much as when the Dems changed military bases and mountains. Short history lesson: Gulf of Mexico has been that body of water's name for over 475 years, being named by the Mayans and Aztecs when it was their waterway around the lands. It first was on a map in 1650 and was commonly called this by the first French Jesuits who came to the new land. It does not refer to the country of Mexico, but the Mexica people (Mayan and Aztec). This is a history worth saving as much as our own.