Name 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 August 26, 1793, as Simcoe favoured English names over those of First Nations languages, in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York. Residents petitioned to change the name back to Toronto, and in 1834 the city was incorporated with its original name. The name York lived on through the name of York County (which was later split into Metropolitan 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 January 1, 1998.
List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
Etobicoke is often divided into three zones: north, central, and south, roughly approximate to that of the federal and provincial ridings and city wards.
North York is located north of York, Old Toronto, and East York. It was a separate city until the 1998 amalgamation. North York is sometimes divided to two sections by Yonge Street: an east section and a west section.
Scarborough is on the east side of Victoria Park Avenue. It was a separate city until the 1998 amalgamation. West Rouge was transferred from Pickering to Scarborough in 1974 as part of the establishment of Durham Region. It was also the largest former municipality by area.
York is situated between Old Toronto and North York, west of Bathurst Street (aside from the neighbourhood of Tichester at the southeasternmost corner of the former city, which extends as far east as Walmer Road and includes much of St. Clair West station). Weston was independent of York until 1967. York was a separate city until the 1998 amalgamation. Since then, York is often administered with Etobicoke as a single community council within the amalgamated city of Toronto.