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MapQuest Hits No. 1 on U.S. App Store After Refusing 'Lake America' Rename
MapQuest became the top overall app on Apple's U.S. App Store after declining to adopt the government-ordered name "Lake America" for Lake Ontario. A wave of downloads pushed the navigation app past rivals that complied with the executive order.
The climb began after MapQuest said on X that it would not follow an executive order signed August 27 directing the U.S. geographic naming service to change Lake Ontario's name to "Lake America." Google Maps and Apple Maps both later adopted the name change, but MapQuest held its ground.
MapQuest's U.S. App Store ranking jumped from No. 128 on August 28 to No. 92 the next day. By Monday, August 31, it had reached No. 3 overall and No. 1 in the Navigation category. On Tuesday it rose to the No. 1 spot across the entire U.S. App Store, including both apps and games.
Market intelligence provider Sensor Tower estimated 632,000 U.S. downloads of MapQuest in the six days after the order. The company said the app actually saw more than 1.5 million installs across the U.S. during that period, representing more than half of its total U.S. downloads for 2026.
MapQuest, a land-mapping service that many internet users assumed no longer existed, became a symbol of consumer resistance to the rename. Its public stance attracted users who said they were downloading the app to show support.