What is the 6ix? Toronto's nickname, explained
People say the 6ix, put it on hats, and tag it under every skyline photo. Here is where it comes from, what the six actually refers to, and why locals still know which one is theirs.
You have seen it on a hat, a caption, a chorus. The 6ix. It is how Toronto talks about Toronto now. But ask ten people what the six in the 6ix actually means and you get five answers, so here is the real one.
The short answer
The 6ix means Toronto. The name got pinned to the city around 2016 and stuck, helped along by Drake, who put it on records and merch until it was everywhere.
The "six" underneath it has two roots that both happen to line up.
The six that matters: the boroughs
In 1998, six separate municipalities were amalgamated into a single City of Toronto: old Toronto, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, York and East York. Six became one, but people never stopped knowing which one they came from. Ask someone where they are from and they will still say Scarborough before they say Toronto.
That is the six most locals mean. You can see all of them, and the businesses across each, on the boroughs page.
The other six: the area codes
The tidier origin story points at the phone codes. Toronto has run on 416, and later 647 and 437. Three plus three, six digits people associate with the city. It is the version that fits neatly on a t-shirt, which is part of why it caught on.
Both are true enough. The nickname works because it carries the boroughs and the area codes at once, and because it sounds like the city feels.
Wear it, if you know it
If the 6ix means something to you, the cleanest way to wear it is not a logo tee. We put the CN Tower inside the lettering so it reads as Toronto before it reads as a slogan. It sits in our Toronto t-shirt collection next to the YYZ and coordinates designs, all $34.99.
If you actually know the six, that is the one.
The short version
- The 6ix means Toronto, popularised around 2016.
- The six is the six amalgamated boroughs, and, conveniently, the 416 and 647 area codes.
- Locals still know their borough. Find yours on the boroughs page, and rep it on a tee if you want.
Written by See The Six · kept current from the directory, last checked 2026-10-13