Toponymy
The name "Dundee" is of uncertain etymology. It incorporates the place-name element dùn, fort, present in both Gaelic and in Brythonic languages such as Pictish. The remainder of the name is less obvious. One possibility is that it comes from the Gaelic 'Dèagh', meaning 'fire'. Another is that it derives from 'Tay', and it is in this form, 'Duntay' that the town is seen in Timothy Pont's map (c.1583-1596). Another suggestion is that it is a personal name, referring to an otherwise unknown local ruler named 'Daigh'.
Folk etymology, repeated by Boece, claims that the town's name was originally Allectum, and it was renamed Dei Donum 'Gift from God', following David, 8th Earl of Huntingdon's arrival there on his return from the Holy Land.
Read more about this topic: History Of Dundee