In the city’s west end, the name “Etobicoke” comes from the Mississauga word wadoopikaang, which means “place where the alders grow.” This was the way that these Algonquian-speaking peoples described the area between Etobicoke Creek and the Humber River. The first provincial land surveyor, Augustus Jones, also spelled it as “ato-be-coake.” Etobicoke was adopted as the official name of the area in 1795, under the direction of the first lieutenant governor, John Graves Simcoe.

Within Etobicoke, the Mimico neighbourhood along the waterfront takes its name from an Ojibwe word, omiimiikaa, which means “abundant with wild pigeons.” This term references the passenger pigeon, which was thought to have been the most numerous species in the world at the time European colonization began in North America, but the species has since gone extinct.

The township of Etobicoke was incorporated on January 1, 1850. In 1998, Etobicoke was officially merged into the city of Toronto.

Source: The Culture Trip