Name of Toronto
Encyclopedia
The name of Toronto has a rich history distinct from that of the city itself
. Originally, the term "Taronto" referred to a channel of water between Lake Simcoe
and Lake Couchiching
, but in time the name passed southward, and was eventually applied to a new fort at the mouth of the Humber River. Fort Toronto
was the first settlement in the area, and lent its name to what became the city of Toronto.
John Graves Simcoe
identified the area as a strategic location to base a new capital for Upper Canada
, believing Newark
to be susceptible to American invasion. A garrison was established at Garrison Creek
, on the western entrance to the docks of Toronto Harbour
, in 1793; this later became Fort York
. The settlement it defended was renamed York
on 26 August 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations
languages, in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York
. Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name. The name York lived on through the name of York County
(which was later split into Toronto and York Region), and continues to live on through the names of several districts within the city, including Yorkville
, East York
, and North York, the latter two suburbs that were formally amalgamated into the megacity of Toronto on 1 January 1998.
, meaning "where there are trees standing in the water", and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain
.
By 1680, Lake Simcoe appeared as Lac de Taronto on a map created by French court official Abbé Claude Bernou; by 1686, Passage de Taronto
referred to a canoe route tracking what is now the Humber River
. The river became known as Rivière Taronto as the canoe route became more popular with French explorers, and by the 1720s a fort to the east of the mouth of the river was named Fort Toronto. Rivière Taronto was renamed to Humber River by Simcoe.
The change of spelling from Taronto to Toronto is thought to originate on a 1695 map by Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli
.
The name has also sometimes been identified with Tarantou, a village marked on a 1656 map of New France
by Nicolas Sanson
. However, the location on this map is east of Lake Nipissing
and northwest of Montreal
in what is now Quebec.
In 1834, the Legislative Council sought to incorporate the city, then still known as York. By this time, it was already the largest city in Upper Canada, growing greatly in the late 1820s and early 1830s following the slow growth from its founding in the 1790s. The Council was petitioned to rename the city Toronto during its incorporation, and on 1 March 1834 debated the issue. In Debate on Name Toronto in Incorporation Act, March 1, 1834, records indicate various council members noting their support for or opposition to the measure. The most vocal opponents were John Willson, and Mr. Jarvis and Mr. Bidwell. Proponents were William Chisholm
, William Bent Berczy
, and Mr. Clark. The Speaker
noted that "this city will be the only City of Toronto in the world", to cheers from council.
The name was chosen in part because it was the original name for the area, and in part to avoid the negative connotations that "York" had engendered in the city's residents, especially that of dirty Little York. Toronto was also considered more pleasing, as the speaker noted during the debate, "He hoped Honourable Members had the same taste for musical sounds as he had". Berczy noted that "it is the old, original name of the place, and the sound is in every respect much better".
Torontonians may identify someone as a local if they say TRAW-nə. A pronunciation of toh-RON-toh in casual speech is usually seen as a sign that the speaker is not a native of the city.
Canadian francophone
s say toʁɔ̃ˈto, with the French nasal on on the second syllable and, if the word is said at the end of a phrase, the accent on the third syllable.
s throughout its history. Among the earliest of these was the disparaging Muddy York, used during the settlement's early growth. At the time, there were no sewers or storm drains, and the streets were unpaved. During rainfall, water would accumulate on the dirt roads, transforming them into often impassable muddy avenues.
A more disparaging nickname used by the early residents was Little York, referring to its establishment as a collection of twelve log homes at the mouth of the Don River surrounded by wilderness, and used in comparison to New York City
and York
in England. This changed as new settlements and roads were established, extending from the newly-established capital.
Adjectives were sometimes attached to Little York; records from the Legislative Council of the time indicate that dirty Little York and nasty Little York were used by residents.
In his book Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names, Alan Rayburn states that "no place in Canada has as many sobriquet
s as Toronto." Among them are the nicknames:
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Originally, the term "Taronto" referred to a channel of water between Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
and Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching, from the Ojibwe gojijiing meaning "inlet", is a small lake in Central Ontario separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. The Trent-Severn Waterway enters Lake Simcoe by the Talbot River and exits this lake by the Severn River which empties into Georgian Bay...
, but in time the name passed southward, and was eventually applied to a new fort at the mouth of the Humber River. Fort Toronto
Fort Rouillé
Fort Rouillé or Fort Toronto was a French trading post located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that was established around 1750 but abandoned in 1759. The fort site is now part of the public lands of Exhibition Place...
was the first settlement in the area, and lent its name to what became the city of Toronto.
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
identified the area as a strategic location to base a new capital for Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, believing Newark
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
to be susceptible to American invasion. A garrison was established at Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek was a short stream about long that flowed southeast into the west side of Toronto Harbour in Ontario, Canada.It has been largely covered over and filled in, but geographical traces of the creek can still be found. The natural amphitheatre known as Christie Pits is one such remnant;...
, on the western entrance to the docks of Toronto Harbour
Toronto Harbour
Toronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. It is a commercial port on the Great Lakes as well as a recreational harbour...
, in 1793; this later became Fort York
Fort York
Fort York is a historic site of military fortifications and related buildings on the west side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was built by the British Army and Canadian militia troops in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, to defend the settlement and the new capital of the...
. The settlement it defended was renamed York
York, Upper Canada
York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
on 26 August 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
languages, in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
. Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name. The name York lived on through the name of York County
York County, Ontario
York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario.York County was created in 1792 and was part of the jurisdiction of Home District of Upper Canada...
(which was later split into Toronto and York Region), and continues to live on through the names of several districts within the city, including Yorkville
Yorkville, Toronto
Yorkville is a district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, well known for its shopping. It is a former village, annexed by the City of Toronto. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road to the west, and is considered part of...
, East York
East York
East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...
, and North York, the latter two suburbs that were formally amalgamated into the megacity of Toronto on 1 January 1998.
History
Originally, the term "Taronto" referred to The Narrows, a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching. This narrows was styled tkaronto by the MohawkMohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, meaning "where there are trees standing in the water", and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
.
By 1680, Lake Simcoe appeared as Lac de Taronto on a map created by French court official Abbé Claude Bernou; by 1686, Passage de Taronto
Toronto Carrying-Place Trail
The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, also known as the Humber Portage and the Toronto Passage, was a major portage route in Ontario, Canada, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes...
referred to a canoe route tracking what is now the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
. The river became known as Rivière Taronto as the canoe route became more popular with French explorers, and by the 1720s a fort to the east of the mouth of the river was named Fort Toronto. Rivière Taronto was renamed to Humber River by Simcoe.
The change of spelling from Taronto to Toronto is thought to originate on a 1695 map by Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli was a Franciscan monk, a Venetian cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes, and who spent most of his life in Venice.-Biography:...
.
The name has also sometimes been identified with Tarantou, a village marked on a 1656 map of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
by Nicolas Sanson
Nicolas Sanson
Nicolas Sanson was a French cartographer, wrongly termed by some the creator of French geography. He was born of an old Picardy family of Scottish descent, at Abbeville, on the 20th of December 1600, and was educated by the Jesuits at Amiens.In 1627 he attracted the attention of Richelieu by a...
. However, the location on this map is east of Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing
Lake Nipissing is a lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Excluding the Great Lakes, Lake Nipissing is the fifth-largest lake in Ontario. It is relatively shallow for a...
and northwest of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in what is now Quebec.
Incorporation of the City of Toronto
William Chisholm (Upper Canada politician)
William Chisholm was a farmer, businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Jordan Bay, Nova Scotia in 1788, the son of a Scottish immigrant and United Empire Loyalist who originally settled in Tryon County, New York. The family moved to Upper Canada and settled near the current...
, William Bent Berczy
William Bent Berczy
William Bent Berczy was a farmer, painter and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in London England in 1791, the son of William Berczy, and came to York with his family in 1794. He grew up in York, Montreal and Quebec City. He served in the Corps of Canadian Chasseurs during the War of...
, and Mr. Clark. The Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
noted that "this city will be the only City of Toronto in the world", to cheers from council.
The name was chosen in part because it was the original name for the area, and in part to avoid the negative connotations that "York" had engendered in the city's residents, especially that of dirty Little York. Toronto was also considered more pleasing, as the speaker noted during the debate, "He hoped Honourable Members had the same taste for musical sounds as he had". Berczy noted that "it is the old, original name of the place, and the sound is in every respect much better".
Pronunciation
The stress is on the second syllable; with careful enunciation "Toronto" is or təˈrɒntoʊ . In conversation, locals generally pronounce it /təˈrɒnoʊ/ tə-RON-oh (as in 'I'm gonna go to Toronno'), /ˈtrɒnoʊ/ TRON-oh, /ˈtrɒntoʊ/ TRON-toh, /toʊˈrɒnə/ toh-RON-ə, or /təˈrɒnə/ tə-RON-ə , or, in its most abbreviated form, /ˈtrɒnə/ TRON-ə. As with other words beginning with tr, the stressed /tr/ often sounds almost like [tʃʰɹʷ] chr, for pronunciations such as CHRON-oh and CHRON-ə. The same speaker may pronounce "Toronto" differently depending on the subject of the conversation in which it is used.Torontonians may identify someone as a local if they say TRAW-nə. A pronunciation of toh-RON-toh in casual speech is usually seen as a sign that the speaker is not a native of the city.
Canadian francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
s say toʁɔ̃ˈto, with the French nasal on on the second syllable and, if the word is said at the end of a phrase, the accent on the third syllable.
Nicknames
Toronto has garnered various nicknameNickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s throughout its history. Among the earliest of these was the disparaging Muddy York, used during the settlement's early growth. At the time, there were no sewers or storm drains, and the streets were unpaved. During rainfall, water would accumulate on the dirt roads, transforming them into often impassable muddy avenues.
A more disparaging nickname used by the early residents was Little York, referring to its establishment as a collection of twelve log homes at the mouth of the Don River surrounded by wilderness, and used in comparison to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
in England. This changed as new settlements and roads were established, extending from the newly-established capital.
Adjectives were sometimes attached to Little York; records from the Legislative Council of the time indicate that dirty Little York and nasty Little York were used by residents.
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
s as Toronto." Among them are the nicknames:
- TO or T.O. – from Toronto, Ontario, or from Toronto; pronounced "Tee-Oh". Sometimes used as T-dot, T-dot-O, or T-dot O-dot.
- The Megacity – referring to the amalgamation of the former Metropolitan TorontoMetropolitan TorontoThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
. - The City That Works – first mentioned in a Harper's MagazineHarper's MagazineHarper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
article written by Washington Post correspondent Anthony Astrachan in 1975. It refers to the city's reputation for successful urban planning. - The Big Smoke – used by Allan FotheringhamAllan FotheringhamAllan Fotheringham is a Canadian newspaper and magazine journalist. He is widely known by the nickname Dr. Foth and styles himself as, "Always controversial... never at a loss for words" and also as "the Great Gatheringfroth".-Life:Fotheringham attended Chilliwack Secondary School, where he was...
, a writer for Maclean'sMaclean'sMaclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine, who had first heard the term applied by Australian AboriginesAustralian AboriginesAustralian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
to Australian cities. The Big Smoke was originally a popular nickname for LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is now used to refer to various cities throughout the world. - Hogtown – Related to the livestock that was processed in Toronto, largely by the city's largest pork processor and packer, the William Davies CompanyWilliam Davies CompanyWilliam Davies Company was a pork processing and packing company in Toronto, Canada. At one time, it was the largest pork packer both in Canada and the British Empire, and it operated Canada's first major chain of food stores...
. - Toronto the Good – from its history as a bastion of 19th century Victorian moralityVictorian moralityVictorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
and coined by mayor William Holmes HowlandWilliam Holmes HowlandWilliam Holmes Howland was Mayor of Toronto from 1886 to 1887.-Biography:Prior to William Holmes Howland becoming Toronto's 25th mayor, he was a businessman who was elected president of the Board of Trade in 1874-1875...
. An 1898 book by C.S. Clark was titled Of Toronto the Good. A Social Study. The Queen City of Canada As It Is. Today sometimes used ironically to imply a less-than-great or less-than-moral status. - Queen CityQueen City-Official name:It is the official place name of two places in the United States:* Queen City, Missouri* Queen City, Texas-North America:* Allentown, Pennsylvania* Bangor, Maine* Beach Haven, New Jersey* Buffalo, New York* Burlington, Vermont...
– a reference now most commonly used by francophone QuebecersFrench-speaking QuebecerFrench-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
("La Ville-Reine"), or in advertising. The second part of the three-part Toronto: City of Dreams documentary about the city was titled The Queen City (1867-1939). - Methodist RomeMethodist RomeMethodist Rome was a nickname sometimes given to the city of Toronto, Ontario in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The moniker implied that Toronto was as central to Canadian Methodism as Rome, or more specifically Vatican City in Rome, is to Catholicism.Methodism was never the...
– an analogy identifying the city as a centre for CanadianCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
methodismMethodismMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
. - City of Churches.
- Hollywood NorthHollywood NorthHollywood North, an allusion to Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States, a notable film centre in the world, is a colloquialism used to describe film production industries and or film locations north of its namesake...
– referring to the film industry. Hollywood North was originally a nickname for Vancouver, BC, and is now used to refer to various cities.
- Broadway North, in reference to the Broadway theatreBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
area in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York... - The 416 – 416 is the original telephone area code for much of the city (the other area code is 647); the surrounding GTAGreater Toronto AreaThe Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
suburbSuburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, now using area codes 905 and 289, are similarly "the 905". - Centre of the Universe – it was mentioned in the documentary film Let's All Hate TorontoLet's All Hate TorontoLet's All Hate Toronto is a 2007 Canadian documentary film co-directed by independent documentarian Albert Nerenberg and Rob Spence. The documentary is a comedic examination of the reasons why everyone in Canada seems to hate Toronto...
, as the term is used derisively by residents of the rest of Canada in reference to the city. It is also infrequently used by the media. Outside Toronto, it is sometimes said to be used by residents of the city. The moniker 'Centre of the universe' was originally a popular nickname for New York City, and more specifically Times SquareTimes SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. It has since been used to refer to other municipalities.