Lord Strathcona and his colleagues named this town after a town in the county of Banffshire, now Grampian, near his birthplace in Eastern Scotland. Banff is a corruption of "Bunnaimb," meaning "mouth of the river" in the Gaelic language. Apparently, the name was first suggested by Mr. Harry Sandison, former alderman and former chairman of the Parks Board, who was born in the town of Banff in Scotland. The meeting in which the name Banff was decided for this town included personalities such as Dr. James Steward and Mr. H. MacTavish, who were both associated with the Hudson's Bay Company. Other members included George Stephens and William Van Home of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Also in attendance was Donald Smith, who later became Lord Strathcona, a prominent figure in Canadian history. He was a Canadian High Commissioner in England, a key enterpreneur in the formation of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and had also at different times served as a senior Hudson's Bay Company officer and a Member of Parliament. This meeting was called to decide on a name for this town, and it was here it was first called Banff. There are several different Indian names for this townsite. As outlined by Hugh Dempsey, author of Indian Names for Alberta Communities Occasional Paper No. 4 (1969), in Blackfoot it is named for the hot springs, for example, "Nato-oh-sis-koom," which means "holy springs." The Stoney Indians call Banff "Minihapa," which means "waterfall place," while the Cree call it "Nipika-Pakitik," both for the falls on Cascade Mountain. In Sarcee, "Tsa-nidza" means "in the mountains." The name Banff was made official 25 December 1905.

Approximately 92 km west of Calgary.