It is the county seat of Citrus County.
Inverness, Florida was established in 1889. Its original name was Tompkinsville. According to the late historian Mary McRae of Homosassa, Inverness got its name from a lonely Scotsman, far away from his home, who gazed upon the blue waters of the Native American-named Lake Tsala Apoka and thought, "but it looks like Inverness, between the headlands and the lochs'(115) in Scotland. And the beautiful place deserves the name of Inverness." Inver is a Gaelic word meaning "mouth of the river", and through the city flows the River Ness, originating from Loch Ness. Since Citrus County lies at the foot of one of the chain of lakes in the Citrus County, Inverness seemed an appropriate name.