Toronto. Did you pronounce the second ‘t’? If not, you’re probably a local that loves the capital of Ontario as much as we do. But, what’s in a name? Over the years, Toronto has had a lot of nicknames. T-Dot, Little York, The Six, and more. So, how do you refer to the city? What’s the background story with these nicknames, anyway? Let’s explore the meaning behind Toronto’s many names.
First, it’s important to know a little bit about Toronto’s history. The land that we know as Toronto was inhabited for over 12,000 years by Indigenous People, ancestors of the Huron-Wendat. In 1793, Toronto was surrendered to the British and founded as the Town of York. Toronto was a significant trading post in the 1700s. After the War of 1812, the Town of York changed to Toronto in order to differentiate it from New York City and other areas in the province that were also known as “York”.
Toronto really began to grow in the late part of the 19th century as major railway networks were built. Post World War II, Toronto had a surge of immigration and the population and industry of the city boomed due to government investment in infrastructure. Additionally, many American corporations were choosing Toronto real estate to open their Canadian branch offices. These changes and more turned Toronto into Canada’s largest and most multicultural city and it became known as Canada’s economic capital.
Ok, now that we have a little background history of Toronto, let’s dig deeper into the background stories of our city’s many nicknames:
Town of York: Toronto’s original name until it was incorporated in 1834 as “Toronto”.
Little York: Also based on Toronto’s original name of the Town of York. Since Toronto is the largest city in Canada and embodies a lot of similarities to the urban mecca that is New ‘York’ City, some refer to Toronto as “Little York”. As in, New York’s “Little” sibling.
Hogtown: Toronto was once known as the most elite manufacturer of bacon and pork in all of the British Empire. This reputation gave Toronto the “Hogtown” nickname. Supposedly, the William Davies Company helped to coin the name as one of the largest meat processors in Canada.
The Six (The 6, The 6ix): Prior to 1998, Metropolitan Toronto was divided into six municipalities. These included North York, East York, York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, and Old Toronto. In 1998, the municipalities were amalgamated to form the City of Toronto. Some also say that the term “The Six” is taken from the city’s area codes 416 and 647. Whichever the name was based on, we can all agree that hip-hop, especially Drake, helped to popularize this nickname.
The Megacity: This name is also taken from Toronto’s six municipalities being combined into the current City of Toronto, as of 1998. Toronto real estate agents love to represent the Megacity that encompasses Steeles Avenue to the north, beautiful Lake Ontario to the south, Etobicoke Creek/Highway 427 to the west and the Rouge River on the east.
T.O. or T-Dot/T-Dot O: T.O. is simply the acronym for Toronto, Ontario. When abbreviated to T.O., some use the name T-Dot, with the “Dot” representing the punctuation (period) after the T.
This is another nickname popularized through hip-hop, especially Kardinal Offishall’s song, “The Anthem”, where he proudly proclaimed he was from “The T-Dot Oooooooo”.
The Big Smoke: Ok, so this one is perhaps a little bit offensive. The term “The Big Smoke” was coined by Australian writer Alan Rayburn but gathered popularity via Alan Fotheringham, a Canadian journalist. He used “The Big Smoke” to portray Toronto as a city that had a big reputation but not a lot to show for it. Basically, “The Big Smoke” was meant to say that Toronto was all talk and no action and just a lot of “smoke in mirrors”. Some alternatively suggest that this nickname comes from how industrial the city was in the 1900s and the smog that occurred.
Queen City: You would think this nickname is an homage to Queen Elizabeth, but it’s not. The term “Queen City” typically refers to the largest city of a country that is not actually the capital.
Hollywood North: Sure, you’ve heard of Hollywood, but Toronto has a thriving film industry as well! The city serves as a location for many filming projects, has produced countless film talent, and is the host of one of the biggest film festivals around, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Toronto The Good: This nickname is derived from the late 1800’s. The mayor at that time, William Howland, attempted to make Toronto more virtuous by banning alcohol and gambling and promoting Christianity. This nickname is generally used in a sarcastic manner these days as we no longer adhere to the rules of the 1800s.
YYZ: If you’ve ever flown in or out of Toronto, you know this name comes from the airport code for Pearson International Airport.
Whatever you choose to call Toronto, now you’ll have some context on where the name derived from. Whether it be Hogtown, T.O., or Hollywood North…our most favourite way to say Toronto will always be, “home”.
