Generally thought to be named for Anthony Oliff, a resident of West Orange (Newark in his time), Toney's Brook originates in Montclair northwest of the Upper Montclair railway station (originally north of the Montclair Presby Iris Garden), now with two branches, east and west of the elevated railroad tracks at Bellevue. In Montclair it is joined by two tributary streams, both originally also called Toney's (one called Tunnel Brook, arising from the cliff near Claremont Ave.). In Montclair, Toney's Brook runs through Anderson Park, Edgemont Memorial Park, Montclair High School and Glenfield Park.
In Glenfield Park, the brook continues southeast into Glen Ridge, where it flows through The Glen (the glen for which that borough is named).