Started learning German a bit ago with pimsluer, and realized you can food your food, it wasn't that funny until I realized you could food your food in a city named food
I am mostly wondering how such a bizarre name came to be, and also, if availible, the public opinion on this name, especially during the urbanization during its industrial revolution.
It seems to be unclear.
The city of Essen has a page devoted to the origins of the names of the city and its various parts over here
The city was first mentioned in the 9th century as Astnide, so the current name came about some time later. The quarter called Altenessen (Old Essen) first had been mentioned in 1220 as "Alden Essende".
Both Esche (ash tree) and Esse (forge) have been discarded as origins.
A current theory by Prof. Dr. Derks (who seems to be the leading local historian - according to the site) suggests that the original meaning might have come from "eastern region", with the historically documented village of Westerdorp being the opposite "western village"
As source they cite: Paul Derks, "Der Ortsname Essen", in: Essener Beiträge 103 (1989/90), pages 27 – 51