OttawaWhat do you call a resident of Chelsea, Que.? Following a search, the municipality has landed on a new official name for its denizens: Chelsiens and Chelsiennes. The name, or demonym, was unanimously adopted Monday evening during a special meeting of the municipality’s council. Municipality searched for new demonym as part of its 150th anniversary celebrationsCBC News · Posted: Sep 16, 2025 2:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 16A man points to the new demonym for residents of Chelsea, Que., which was officially adopted by the municipality Monday. (Maude Ouellet/Radio-Canada)What do you call a resident of Chelsea, Que.? Following a search, the municipality has selected an official name for its denizens: Chelsiens (masculine) and Chelsiennes (feminine).The demonym was unanimously adopted Monday evening during a special meeting of the municipality’s council. Chelsea, about 15 kilometres north of downtown Ottawa, is one of the few municipalities in the Outaouais region without an official demonym. The search for one was part of the municipality’s 150th anniversary celebrations.Chelsea mayor Pierre Guénard said a day after the new demonym was unveiled that residents have reacted well to the new moniker.”I really hope this will become a unity element of our community, just to be able to to say now that we are Chelsiens,” he said.A file photo of Chelsea, Que., Mayor Pierre Guénard. He said the city chose Chelsien/Chelsienne because it was easy to say and spell in both French and English. (Gaëlle Kanyeba/Radio-Canada)In the spring, the municipality launched an online poll to let residents suggest what they’d like to be called. In total, 1,593 people participated in the consultation, providing about 60 suggestions.Some of the other proposed names included: Chelsois/Chelsoise. Chelseacois/Chelseacoise. Chelseaite. Chelski. Chelseyen/Chelseyenne. Chelsite. The municipality was looking for a demonym that was easy to spell and pronounce in both languages, Guénard said.”Some of the suggestion that we had had in French, when you write, you put accent aigu or accent grave,” he said. “But in English, you don’t use those letters and symbols. So that’s why we use Chelsien.”Of the 60 suggestions, only 24 met the municipality’s criteria. The suggestions were then submitted to the Commission de toponymie du Québec for approval.English is the mother tongue for 43 per cent of Chelsea residents, while 46 per cent speak French and about 70 per cent can speak both languages, according to Statistics Canada data from the 2021 census.with files from Jessa Runciman
Je suis Chelsien/Chelsienne: Chelsea, Que., selects new name for its residents
