Why do they call it that? Dunedin LIVE on the road! | News

This city is home to highland games and other stuff that screams "Scotland!" But how did the name of a Scottish capital end up on a Tampa Bay town?

We took The Morning Show LIVE to Main Street in Dunedin on Wednesday, April 6th!

Thank you to these great events and attractions: The Dunedin Highland Games, the Boxcar Cafe & Gift Shop, the Dunedin Blue Jays, Dunedin Fine Art Center, the Jolley Trolley, Radio Dunedin, the National Armed Services & Law Enforcement Museum, Dunedin Boat Club, the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Dunedin.

Thanks to these awesome businesses and groups: Dunedin Doggie Rescue, Murals for Mutts, Paws on Main Street and Stirling Tropical Wines, piper Steve Andrews of the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, the Celtic Shop of Dunedin, Dr. Credit and the Florida Auto Exchange, Hers Exercise and Weight Loss, Dunedin Beads, Main Street Hair, and Mease Dunedin Hospital.

Thank you to these outstanding restaurants: Flanagan's Irish Pub, Dunedin Brewery, Broadway Deli & Cafe, Moffat's Cup of Tea, and The Dunedin Smokehouse.

And a huge thanks so many more folks in the Dunedin community for their support!

For more on the Dunedin Highland Games, Saturday, April 9th at Highlander Park, visit the Highland Games website.

Why do they call it Dunedin?

"Dunedin comes from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Scotland," said Rodney Kite-Powell, the curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center.

He says the laid back Pinellas County town honors the way you say the name of Scotland's capital, if you speak Gaelic -- the original language of Scotland.

In Gaelic, Dunedin is spelled Dùn Èideann.

But, back to our Dunedin.

For about its first decade, the town was called Jonesboro; the man who ran the general store was named George Jones.

A pair of Scots came to the area and in 1878 renamed the town after a city in their homeland. But, instead of using the modern name of Edinburgh, they chose the classic Gaelic name, Dunedin.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, Dunedin is pronounced by English speakers in essentially the same way as we say it here.

However, if you want to say it in true Gaelic, with a thick Scottish brogue added to your accent, Dùn Èideann is pronounced more like "Doon Ay-chinn," according to Fiona Stewart with the Scottish Tourist Board.

And Dunedin isn't the only Bay area burg with a name from a brogue. Inverness, in Citrus County, shares its name with the city at entrance to Scotland's Loch Ness.

Why do they call it that? Now you know.

We'll be featuring new "Why do they call it that?" stories each Wednesday on 10 News at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Check out previous editions of "Why do they call it that?" plus links to photos and maps from Tampa Bay's past at our "Why do they call it that?" website: wtsp.com/callitthat.

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