Ainu language
The name of the town originates from the word "Hemoi-tomari" in the Ainu language. "Hemoi-tomari" is formed from two Ainu-language words, the first, "hemoi", meaning "trout", and the second, "tomari", meaning "harbor". In the Japanese language the name of the town is written with a single kanji character, , meaning "anchored" or "at anchor". The written form of the name in Japanese is an ateji, or a kanji character used to phonetically represent native or borrowed words.