The City of Saints
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Montreal, in Canada, is so named because all the streets are named after saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., also is known as the "City of the Saints," from the Mormons who inhabit it.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The City of Saints” mean?
Montreal, in Canada, is so named because all the streets are named after saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., also is known as the "City of the Saints," from the Mormons who inhabit it.
Is “The City of Saints” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.