Editing Orillia (section)

===Etymology===
The first recorded use of the name to describe the region, which until then had no officially sanctioned designation, was in 1820 when the name was given in [[Toronto|York]], [[Upper Canada]] by then [[Lieutenant-Governors of Ontario|Lieutenant-Governor]] Sir [[Peregrine Maitland]]. Maitland was a veteran of the [[United Kingdom|British]] campaign against the [[First French Empire|French]] in [[Spain]], called the [[Peninsular War]], during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] where he served under the command of the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]].

While there are no records clearly indicating the reason for the name Orillia, the most common explanation holds that the name originates in the [[Spanish language|Spanish]], "orilla," which can mean the shore of either a lake or river. The Spanish pronunciation sounds much like, "oreeya," and since the word itself is spelled almost identically to Orillia, without the second, "i," it has come to be commonly accepted as the source word for the city's name. Further backing the theory of a Spanish origin are the names of surrounding communities and landmarks, which include [[Oro-Medonte|Oro]] for [[gold]], [[Mariposa, Ontario|Mariposa]] for [[butterfly]], and [[Mono, Ontario|Mono]] for [[monkey]]. Historical documents contain a second spelling of the name which was never officially recognised, Aurelia, which when pronounced sounds similar to the name and is considered a [[clerical error]].<ref>Why Call it That? by Ross McDonald, published by the Orillia Historical Society. Page 2</ref>