Name of Toronto

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Events

Toronto Purchase 1787 Battle of York 1813 Battle of Montgomery's Tavern 1837 First Great Fire of Toronto 1849 Second Great Fire of Toronto 1904 Hurricane Hazel (effects) 1954 First Amalgamation 1967 Second Amalgamation 1998

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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,^[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 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.

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. 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",^[6] 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".^[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/ toh-ron-toh or /təˈrɒntoʊ/ tə-ron-toh. In conversation, locals generally pronounce it /təˈrɒnoʊ/^{[citation needed]} 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 ( listen to an example (help·info)), or, in its most abbreviated form, /ˈtrɒnə/ TRON-ə.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

Canadian francophones 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 nicknames 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.^[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.

“	...all roads, all new determinations of settlement radiated from the single muddy street of log houses east of the white-painted wooden church dedicated to St. James, the first representative of the present stately Cathedral...	”
—Charles Pelham Mulvany, Toronto: past and present[8]

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.^[6]

“	He hoped the name of Toronto would be adopted, and by that means the inhabitants would not be subjected to the indignity of residing in a place designated "dirty little York".	”
—The Town of York[6]

“	It would in some measure meet his notice for a change of the seat of Government as much as could be done this Session, for it would change the name from "Nasty Little York" to the CITY OF TORONTO.	”
—The Town of York[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.

In his book Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names, Alan Rayburn states that "no place in Canada has as many sobriquets as Toronto."^[9] 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.^[10]
• The Megacity – referring to the amalgamation of the former Metropolitan Toronto.^[11]
• The City That Works – first mentioned in a Harper's Magazine article written by Washington Post correspondent Anthony Astrachan in 1975.^[9] It refers to the city's reputation for successful urban planning.^[12][13][14]
• The Big Smoke^[15][16][17] – used by Allan Fotheringham, a writer for Maclean's magazine, who had first heard the term applied by Australian Aborigines to Australian cities.^[9] The Big Smoke was originally a popular nickname for London, England, 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 Company.^[18]
• Toronto the Good^[19][20] – from its history as a bastion of 19th century Victorian morality and coined by mayor William Holmes Howland.^[21][22] An 1898 book by C.S. Clark was titled Of Toronto the Good. A Social Study. The Queen City of Canada As It Is.^[23] Today sometimes used ironically to imply a less-than-great or less-than-moral status.
• Queen City – a reference now most commonly used by francophone Quebecers ("La Ville-Reine"),^[23][24] or in advertising.^[25] The second part of the three-part Toronto: City of Dreams documentary about the city was titled The Queen City (1867-1939).^[26]
• Methodist Rome – an analogy identifying the city as a centre for Canadian methodism.^{[citation needed]}
• City of Churches.^[27]
• Hollywood North – referring to the film industry. Hollywood North was originally a nickname for Vancouver, BC, and is now used to refer to various cities.^[28][29][30]
• Broadway North,^[9] in reference to the Broadway theatre area in Manhattan
• The 416 – 416 is the original telephone area code for much of the city (the other area code is 647); the surrounding GTA suburbs, now using area codes 905 and 289, are similarly "the 905".
• Centre of the Universe^[9] – it was mentioned in the documentary film Let's All Hate Toronto,^[31] 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.^[32][33][34] Outside Toronto, it is sometimes said to be used by residents of the city.^[35] The moniker 'Centre of the universe' was originally a popular nickname for New York City, and more specifically Times Square. It has since been used to refer to other municipalities.

References and notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "The real story of how Toronto got its name". Natural Resources Canada. http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/education/toronto_e.php. Retrieved 2006-04-17. 
2. ^ Court, Paul. "How Toronto Got Its Names". United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc. http://www.usitt.org/sightlines/v44/n07/stories/Toronto.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Canada, Provinces & Territories: The naming of their capital cities". Natural Resources Canada. http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/education/cap_e.php. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Pearl McCarthy (1954-03-05). "Tarantou, Now Toronto, First Mapped in 1656". The Globe and Mail (Toronto): p. 3. 
5. ^ Derek Hayes (2002). Historical Atlas of Canada: Canada's History Illustrated with Original Maps. Douglas & McIntyre, University of Washington Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-295-98277-2. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Firth, Edith G., ed (1966). The Town of York: 1815—1834; A Further Collection of Documents of Early Toronto. University of Toronto Press. pp. 297–298. 
7. ^ Gerard, Warren (2004). "Chronicling a City's Past". Imperial Oil Review (Imperial Oil Limited) 88 (450). http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-English/ThisIs/Publications/2004Q2/pages/citysPast.html. Retrieved 2009-04-25. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ Charles Pelham Mulvany (1884). Toronto: past and present: A handbook of the city. W. E. Caiger. p. 10. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rayburn, Alan (2001). Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 45–48. ISBN 9780802082930. http://www.utppublishing.com/product.php?productid=859&cat=0&page=1. 
10. ^ Benson, Denise. "Putting T-Dot on the Map". Eye Weekly. http://contests.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_10.14.99/thebeat/extended.php. Retrieved 2006-12-05. 
11. ^ "Perly's Toronto Megacity Mapbook". http://www.randmcnally.ca/products/193. Retrieved 2006-12-05. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "Toronto Competes". City of Toronto. http://www.toronto.ca/business_publications/tocompetes.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "Good infrastructure including transit, roads, airports, piped services, public buildings is still a prerequisite to retaining our well earned reputation as the 'city that works' and making our businesses internationally competitive." 
13. ^ "Toronto: History". Lonely Planet Publications. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada/toronto/history. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "Although Toronto is still 'The City That Works, ' a geeky nickname acquired for its urban planning successes, the new millennium has delivered a lot of headaches so far" 
14. ^ Donald, Betsy (16 May 2002). "Spinning Toronto's golden age: the making of a 'city that worked'". Environment and Planning A 34 (12): 2127–2154. doi:10.1068/a34111. ISSN 1472-3409. http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a34111. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "...key elements of the mode of regulation operating at the urban scale in Toronto's postwar period to learn what it was that inspired an entire generation of scholars to call Toronto the 'city that works' in this period." 
15. ^ "Why, Toronto, you don't look a day over 174...". CBC News. 6 March 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/03/06/toronto-175th.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "The Big Smoke dusted off its party coat on Friday to kick off festivities celebrating Toronto's 175th birthday amid double-digit temperatures." 
16. ^ Tossell, Ivor (30 January 2009). "Open-source politics breathe fresh air into the Big Smoke". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/article969003.ece. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
17. ^ Filey, Mark (17 February 2010). "The rise of the Big Smoke". Toronto Sun. http://www.torontosun.com/life/2009/12/13/12142566.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
18. ^ P.J. Hare. "Toronto Pork Packing Plant". Toronto Green Community. http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/porkpacking.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-07. 
19. ^ Davidson, Hilary (2007). Frommer's Toronto 2007 (13 ed.). John Wiley and Sons. p. 261. ISBN 9780470048528. "It was still a city of churches worthy of the name "Toronto the Good," with a population of staunch religious conservatives, who barely voted for Sunday streetcar service in 1897, and, in 1912, banned tobogganing on Sunday." 
20. ^ Low, A. Ritchie (20 April 1948). "How Good is 'Toronto the Good'?". Baltimore Afro-American: p. M-6. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HPklAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gvUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2109%2C2019151. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "KNOWN to Canadians as 'Toronto the Good," the Ontario metropolis is a thriving city of three-quarters of a million population, of whom four or five thousand are colored." 
21. ^ Maloney, Mark (3 January 2010). "Toronto's mayors: Scoundrels, rogues and socialists". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/745194--toronto-s-mayors-scoundrels-rogues-and-socialists. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
22. ^ Evelyn Sharon Ruppert (2006). The moral economy of cities: shaping good citizens. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802038869. "'Toronto the Good' is one of many popular nicknames used to represent the moral conduct of its citizens. This term was first associated with one of the early examples of reform politics in Toronto: the mayoralty of William Holmes Howland from 1886 to 1888 and his campaign for moral purification (Morton 1973)." 
23. ^ ^{a b} Clark, C.S. (1970). Of Toronto the Good. A Social Study. The Queen City of Canada As It Is. ISBN 0665006594. http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/cap/6812.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-31.  The book is a facsimile of an 1898 edition.
24. ^ Urban Decoder (2003-11-01). "Toronto is often described as la ville reine (the Queen City) by announcers on Radio-Canada". Toronto Life. http://www.torontolife.com/daily/urban-decoder/2003/11/01/urban-decoder-history-6/. Retrieved January 21, 2010. 
25. ^ "Toronto region". Via Rail. http://www.viarail.ca/en/stations/ontario/toronto/region. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "With more than 2.5 million residents, Toronto is Canada’s largest city and the capital of Ontario. The Queen’s City is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is considered the financial hub of Canada." 
26. ^ "PART TWO: QUEEN CITY (1867 - 1939)". Toronto: City of Dreams. White Pine Pictures (at Collections Canada). http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/toronto/episode_2.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
27. ^ Hume, Christopher (24 October 2009). "A brilliant beauty built to last". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/714551--hume-a-brilliant-beauty-built-to-last. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "That landmark heap was built in 1881 by William McMaster as a Baptist college for women, a fitting monument of 19th-century Toronto, then known as the City of Churches." 
28. ^ Kuitenbrouwer, Peter (18 February 2010). "Toronto is Hollywood North again". National Post. http://www.nationalpost.com/related/links/story.html?id=2578955. Retrieved 2010-04-07. ^{[dead link]}
29. ^ "Introduction to Toronto". Frommer's. Wiley Publishing. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/toronto/0034010001.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "Chances are that even if you've never set foot here, you've seen the city a hundred times over. Known for the past several years as "Hollywood North," Toronto has been a stand-in for international centres from European capitals to New York -- but rarely does it play itself." 
30. ^ Bly, Laura (2009-09-04). "Toronto rolls out the red carpet for celebs and U.S. tourists". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-09-03-toronto-tourism_N.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "Though it vies with Vancouver for the title of Hollywood North, Toronto's active arts and design scene extends far beyond cinema." 
31. ^ "Let's All Hate Toronto". The Lens. CBC Newsworld. http://www.cbc.ca/thelens/program_281007.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07. "Mister Toronto hurdles through the divide to discover more than he could imagine about the "Centre of the Universe" and the crazy country around it." 
32. ^ "London trumps Toronto as centre of Facebook universe". The Globe and Mail. 23 July 2007. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/article772502.ece. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
33. ^ Cerny, Dory (April 2009). "Earthgirl". Book reviews. Quill & Quire. http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=6468. Retrieved 2010-04-07. 
34. ^ Hoang, Na. "Women in Toronto the happiest in Canada?". Canwest News Service. http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=1381664. 
35. ^ Stewart, Barry D. (2004). Across the Land: A Canadian Journey of Discovery. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781412022767. http://www.trafford.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?Book=168619. "Attitude is something Toronto has lots of. It's not that they actually say they are the "centre of the universe," as that Montreal radio station mentioned. It is just that they "know" it."