It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire 's population centers. The city's population was , at the census. The city derived its name from the small community of Moreno, which became part of the city of Moreno Valley when the city was incorporated in Frank E. Brown, one of the founders of the community of Moreno in , declined to have the town named after him, but to honor him, the town was named Moreno, Spanish for brown.
The Moreno Valley area was first inhabited 2, years ago. There are at least prehistoric archaeological locations within the city. The majority of the sites are milling stations - where chaparral seed was the dominant milling activity. Rock art, consisting of pictographs , and petroglyphs are present - though most of the petroglyphs in Moreno Valley consist of boulders with "cupules", or cup-shaped holes pecked into them.
Spanish scouts blazed a number of trails in the area, including the Anza Trail , which runs through the Edgemont area of present-day Moreno Valley. When California was admitted to the United States as a state in , Americans began to move into the area.
Some farmers began to occupy the area, relying upon water from Frank E. Beginning in , the company collected and pumped water from Bear Valley in the San Bernardino Mountains to the north.
The area first acquired its current name, Moreno Valley, at this time, referring to Frank Brown moreno is Spanish for "brown" or "brunet". The resulting loss of service forced most of the area's inhabitants to move. By , the population was 49, compared to 18, residents in Although similar measures had failed previously in and , the measure to form the city of Moreno Valley was approved by the area's voters in On December 3, , the communities of Edgemont, Sunnymead, and Moreno united along with nearby areas to form the general law city of Moreno Valley.
