History of TorontoSourced history of Toronto, Ontario

Where the Name Toronto Comes From

Updated · 5 min read

The name Toronto most likely comes from the Mohawk word tkaronto, which Natural Resources Canada translates as “where there are trees standing in the water.” It first described fish weirs at The Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching, near Orillia, about 125 kilometers (78 miles) north of the present city. The settlement on Lake Ontario was named York in August 1793 and took the name Toronto back when it was incorporated as a city on March 6, 1834.

The Mohawk version: tkaronto

Natural Resources Canada, through its Canadian Geographical Names program, holds that Toronto comes from the Mohawk phrase tkaronto. The phrase described the fish weirs at The Narrows, a channel where Lake Simcoe flows into Lake Couchiching. Samuel de Champlain described such weirs in 1615, and radiocarbon dating of surviving stakes places their use more than 4,000 years ago.

The linguist John Steckley of Humber College, quoted in the Globe and Mail, supports this reading and says most scholars now agree on the Mohawk origin. The Narrows was designated a national historic site in 1982.

How the name moved south

The name did not stay at The Narrows. French maps applied it to Lake Simcoe, then to the canoe route that ran from Lake Ontario up the Humber River. The route is known as the Toronto Carrying Place, a portage linking Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes.

  • About 1680: a map attributed to Abbe Claude Bernou shows Lac de Taronto, the present Lake Simcoe.
  • 1686: Passage de Taronto names the canoe route along the Humber River.
  • 1720s: Fort Toronto is built on Lake Ontario. It was also known as Fort Rouille.
  • 1765: the Journals of Major Robert Rogers are the first to use Toronto alone for the lakeshore site.
  • August 1793: Simcoe renames the settlement York.
  • March 6, 1834: the City of Toronto is incorporated and the older name returns.

The Huron and other versions

Several other meanings have been offered. A French lexicon of 1632 gives a Huron (Wyandot) word meaning “plenty,” and some writers have linked it to Toronto. The claim is reported in Eric Hounsom’s book Toronto in 1810, as cited by Wikipedia, and is not supported by Natural Resources Canada.

The Toronto historian Henry Scadding wrote in 1884 that the name came from a Huron word meaning “place of meetings.” That is the origin of the widely repeated “meeting place” explanation. Steckley calls it a myth and notes that Scadding did not speak an Indigenous language. In 1984 William Kilbourn proposed that the word meant “abundance.” Natural Resources Canada finds the Mohawk origin the best supported and the others unconvincing.

A further suggestion links the name to Tarantou, a village on a 1656 map by Nicolas Sanson. That village lies far from Toronto, east of Lake Nipissing, which makes the link doubtful.

Who proposes what

Version Meaning Proposed by Assessment
Mohawk tkaronto Where trees stand in the water Natural Resources Canada; John Steckley Best supported
Huron word, 1632 lexicon Plenty Cited in Hounsom, Toronto in 1810 Not supported by NRCan
Huron toronton Place of meetings Henry Scadding, 1884 Called a myth by Steckley
Unnamed word Abundance William Kilbourn, 1984 Not convincing, per NRCan
Tarantou, 1656 map A village name Some map writers Location does not fit

York, 1793

Lord Dorchester arranged the Toronto Purchase from the Mississauga in 1787. After Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe proposed other capital sites, Dorchester accepted Toronto in 1793. Simcoe disliked Indigenous place names. He named Lake Simcoe after his father, renamed the Toronto River the Humber, and renamed the settlement York in honor of the Duke of York.

Natural Resources Canada gives the renaming as August 26, 1793, while Wikipedia gives both August 26 and August 27 in different places. This page uses August 1793. Isaac Weld lamented the loss of Indigenous names in 1796, and a petition to restore Toronto was submitted in 1804.

Toronto again, 1834

York was often confused with New York, and nicknames such as Muddy York were common. When the town was incorporated as a city, the council debated the name on March 1, 1834, according to Edith Firth’s collection The Town of York, 1815 to 1834. William Chisholm and William Bent Berczy supported Toronto, and John Willson and Mr. Jarvis opposed it. The City of Toronto was incorporated on March 6, 1834.

Other places also took the name. Toronto Township dates from 1805, Toronto Gore from 1819, and New Toronto from 1892.

Tkaronto today

Since about 2020 some Indigenous writers and groups have used Tkaronto in place of Toronto to restore the older form. This is a recent usage and does not change the official name of the city.

Frequently asked questions

What does Toronto mean?

The best supported meaning is “where there are trees standing in the water,” from the Mohawk word tkaronto.

Does Toronto mean meeting place?

That explanation comes from Henry Scadding in 1884. John Steckley calls it a myth.

Why was Toronto called York?

John Graves Simcoe renamed it York in August 1793 to honor the Duke of York.

When did York become Toronto again?

On March 6, 1834, when the city was incorporated.

Last verified: October 2026

Sources

Cite this page

APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Where the Name Toronto Comes From. http://localhost:8210/blog/why-toronto-is-called-toronto-unraveling-the-origins-and-history-of-the-citys-name

MLA: “Where the Name Toronto Comes From.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, http://localhost:8210/blog/why-toronto-is-called-toronto-unraveling-the-origins-and-history-of-the-citys-name. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “Where the Name Toronto Comes From.” Last modified October 23, 2026. http://localhost:8210/blog/why-toronto-is-called-toronto-unraveling-the-origins-and-history-of-the-citys-name.

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