Chetpet

right The name "Madras" was adopted during the British rule. The Tamil Nadu government changed it to Chennai in 1996, claiming that Chennai is the original name of the city. However, the origin of both names are uncertain. As per local legend, the name "Madras" comes from "Madrasapattinam" (மதராசப்பட்டினம் Madarājappaṭṭinam) and the name "Chennai" from "Chennapattinam" (சென்னப்பட்டினம் Chennappaṭṭinam). Madrasapattinam was the name of the British settlement, and Chennapattinam was a fishing village nearby. However, it is not clear if the village was there beforehand or grew up around Madrasapattinam. As the settlements grew, the locations of "Chennapattinam" and "Madrasapattinam" became confused as the two settlements merged into a single town. It is also believed that early Portuguese voyagers may have called the area Madre de Sois after an early settler, or Madre de Deus after an early church (of St. Mary), which corrupted to "Madras".