How Did Minnesota’s ‘Dinkytown’ Get Its Name?

My morning show cohost, Dave Thomas, recently moved to Minnesota from North Carolina. Needless to say, it has been fun getting him up to speed on all things Minnesota.

However, he asked me today a question that I did not know the answer to: What is Dinkytown and how did it get its name? While I knew WHAT Dinkytown was, I really had no idea where it got its name.

With that being said, I did some digging and as it turns out... no one seems sure where the name comes from, although it can be traced as far back as 1948 when the Dinkytown Business Association was formed.

A website called "DinkytownMinneapolis.com" has a few theories on the name's origin.

The first is that the area was named after trolleys and rail cars in the area. The vehicles were called "Dinkys" by those who lived in the area.

The second theory is even simpler- Dinkytown earns the name by being a 'small, self-contained community within the city.'

Another theory says the name traces back to a small theater in the area that has long since closed. Since the theater had only four rows of seating, it was referred to as "The Dinky."

A final theory revolves around a clothing business named "Grodnik," which is Slavic, with "Grod" meaning town and "Nik" meaning small size.

While the website concludes its investigation by conceding they are not 100% sure of the origin, the most popular belief is the train car theory.