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Strabo notes that Gaeta was named after the Greek Kaiadas, also meaning "Cavity", due to the many grottos (ahem!) along its rocky coast. Why would Romans use a Greek name? Well, at the risk of sounding chavinistic, southern Italy has been historically Greek for more years than it has been Italian :P
But there also appears an alternative etymology by Virgil, who attributes Gaeta to to Caieta, Aeneas's nurse, who died there.