Every Toronto Nickname, Explained

Few cities collect nicknames the way Toronto has — partly civic pride, partly self-deprecation, and at least twice, an insult the city simply decided to keep.

The Six / 6ix

The newest and now most globally recognized nickname, referring to the 1998 amalgamation of six municipalities into one Toronto, popularized by Drake's 2015 album Views From The 6 after Toronto rapper Jimmy Prime used it in street culture first. Full dictionary entry: The Six / The 6ix.

Hogtown

A 19th-century nickname with two competing origin stories — a political insult about Toronto politicians "hogging" the provincial legislature, and the city's genuinely massive meatpacking industry. Toronto embraced it rather than fighting it. Full entry: Hogtown.

Toronto the Good

Coined by 19th-century mayor William Howland, who campaigned against gambling and public drinking while promoting a strict Christian moral code. The nickname stuck — but is now mostly used sarcastically, given how far the modern city is from Howland's vision.

The Big Smoke

Popularized by Maclean's columnist Allan Fotheringham, who borrowed a term Aboriginal Australians used for Australian cities to describe Toronto as all reputation and "smoke and mirrors." A competing, less cynical theory ties it to the literal industrial smoke that hung over the city in the early 1900s.

T.O. and T-Dot

Straightforward abbreviation-era nicknames, modeled on "NY" for New York and "LA" for Los Angeles. Full entries: T Dot / T.O. and The Dot.

Sources

• WorldAtlas — Why is Toronto Called "the Big Smoke"?
• Reviewlution — Why is Toronto Called the Six?
• Barry Popik — Big Smoke (Toronto, Canada nickname)

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