Toronto

The name Toronto is derived from the Mohawk word tkaronto, which translates to 'where there are trees standing in the water.' This originally referred to the narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, where the Huron-Wendat people had planted saplings to create fish weirs. Over time, the name was applied to the portage route leading from Lake Ontario to the upper Great Lakes, known as the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. By the late 17th century, French maps began using the name Toronto to describe the general region and the French trading post, Fort Rouillé, established on the shores of Lake Ontario.

In 1793, John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, established a town on the site and named it York, in honor of Prince Frederick, Duke of York. Simcoe intended for York to be a more defensible capital than the previous site at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake). However, the name York was often criticized as being uninspired, and in 1834, the town was incorporated as the City of Toronto, reclaiming its indigenous-rooted name. This change was championed by residents who wanted to distinguish their city from the many other 'Yorks' in the British Empire and to embrace a name with local historical significance.

The demonym Torontonian identifies the residents of Canada's largest and most diverse city. The etymology of Toronto reflects a journey from a specific indigenous fishing site to a colonial capital and finally to a global financial and cultural hub. While the 'trees standing in the water' are long gone from the downtown core, the name remains a link to the natural landscape and the indigenous peoples who first recognized the area's importance as a meeting place and a center of life.