In 1985, at the suggestion, the city council of Toluca, adopted as its municipal coat of arms the local pre-Columbian heraldric figures used in times of Mexica control: Tolutepetl.

The name has its origin in the word tollocan that comes from the name of the god, Tollo, plus the locative suffix, can, to denote "place of Tolo".

It is also referred to in a number of Aztec codices as Tolutépetl, meaning hill of the god, Tolo, an allusion to the nearby volcano.

Toluca became a city on September 12, 1799, when the Spanish monarch Charles IV gave it the title and the heraldic shield.

This royal shield showed the colors of the Spanish flag, yellow and red, as well as four rampant lions, crowned eagles linked to Spanish royalty, two towers and other figures on a sky blue background, a color traditionally attributed to the Bourbon family.