Name of Toronto

The name of Toronto has a rich history which is distinct from the history 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 would later become Fort York. The settlement it defended was renamed York on 26 August 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations languages,^[1] in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York.^[1] Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name.^[2] The name York lives on through the names of several districts within the city, including Yorkville and East York, the neighbouring municipality to the north, York Region, as well as the former city-suburb of North York, formally amalgamated into the Toronto MegaCity January 1, 1998.

A garrison was established at what would eventually become Fort York, built to protect what would be the new capital of Upper Canada.

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 Mohawk, meaning "where there are trees standing in the water",^[1] and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain.^[3]

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.^[1]

The change of spelling from Taronto to Toronto is thought to originate on a 1695 map by Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli.^[1]

The name has also sometimes been identified with Tarantou,^[3][4] 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.^[4][5]

Incorporation of the City of Toronto

An early map depicting Teiaiagon and Lac Taronto, which would be renamed Lake Simcoe. Les Piquets refers to the fish weirs consisting of trees standing in the water. The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail is shown, simply marked as Portage, and Lake Ontario was then known as Lac de Frontenac.

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. Council was petitioned to rename the city Toronto during its incorporation, and on March 1, 1834 officially debated the issue. In Debate on Name Toronto in Incorporation Act, March 1, 1834, records indicate various council members in support of, or in 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",^[6] to cheers from council.

The name was chosen in part because it was the original name for the area, and in part to disassociate from 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".^[6] Berczy noted that "it is the old, original name of the place, and the sound is in every respect much better".^[6]

Pronunciation

The stress is on the second syllable; with careful enunciation "Toronto" is pronounced /toʊˈrɒntoʊ/ toe-RON-toe or /təˈrɒntoʊ/ tə-RON-toe. In conversation, locals, most Ontarians, and many English speaking Canadians generally pronounce it /təˈrɒnoʊ/ tə-RON-oe (as in 'I'm gonna go to Toronno'), /ˈtrɒnoʊ/ TRON-oe, /ˈtrɒntoʊ/ TRON-toe, /toʊˈrɒnə/ toe-RON-ə, or /təˈrɒnə/ tə-RON-ə ( listen to an example (help·info)), 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-oe 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 toe-RON-toe in casual speech is usually seen as a sign of someone not being a native of the city.

Canadian francophones say IPA: [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

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Toronto has garnered various nicknames throughout its history. Among the earliest of these is Muddy York, a disparaging moniker 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.^[7]

A more disparaging nickname used by the early residents was Little York,^[1] 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 the moniker Little York; records from the Legislative Council of the time indicate that dirty Little York and nasty Little York were used by residents.^[6]

A pen of hogs at the William Davies Company, circa 1920. Although the vast pork processing plants are long gone, Toronto's nickname of "Hogtown" remains.

Other nicknames include:

• 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.^[9]
• The Megacity – referring to the amalgamation of the former Metropolitan Toronto.^[10]
• The City That Works – from its reputation for successful urban planning^[11][12][13] (lauded by Jane Jacobs).
• The Big Smoke – originally a nickname for London, England.
• Hogtown – Related to the livestock that was processed in Toronto, largely by the city's largest pork processor and packer, the William Davies Company.^[14]
• Toronto the Good – from its history as a bastion of 19th century Victorian morality. An 1898 book by C.S. Clark was titled Of Toronto the Good. A Social Study. The Queen City of Canada As It Is^[15]. Today sometimes used ironically to imply a less-than-great or less-than-moral status.
• Queen City – a reference now^{[citation needed]} most commonly used by francophone Quebecers ("La Ville-Reine")^[15]
• Methodist Rome – an analogy identifying the city as a centre for Canadian methodism, as Rome is for Catholicism.^{[citation needed]}
• City of Churches.^{[citation needed]}
• Hollywood North – a nickname shared with Vancouver, referring to the film industry.
• The 416 – 416 is the original telephone area code for much of the city (the other area code in Toronto is 647); the surrounding GTA suburbs, now using area codes 905 and 289, are similarly "the 905".

References and notes

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