Yes. The name Ontario was used for the lake long before it became the official name of the Canadian province in 1867.
A French map dated to 1660–1669 labels the body of water “Lac Ontario ou des Iroquois.” More than two centuries later, sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution Act, 1867 named Ontario as one of Canada's four provinces and made the former Upper Canada the Province of Ontario.
The exact Indigenous-language origin and earliest surviving written use of Ontario are discussed differently across historical sources. That uncertainty does not affect the chronology: documentary evidence places the name on the lake by the 17th century, well before the province was created.
Lake Ontario carried the name Ontario more than two centuries before the Province of Ontario was established in 1867.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
A map dated 1660–1669 labels the lake “Lac Ontario ou des Iroquois,” establishing use of Ontario for the lake more than two centuries before Confederation.
Based on: Bibliothèque nationale de France
Department of Justice Canada
Sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution Act, 1867 name Ontario as a province and state that the former Upper Canada would constitute the Province of Ontario.
Based on: Department of Justice Canada
Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada
The federal history page traces Ontario to an Indigenous-derived name used in the region in 1641 and says it was adapted when the area became a province in 1867.
Based on: Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada
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