Pandyan Dynasty
Under the rule of the Pandyan Dynasty, the district was known as "Thenpandiyanadu". The Chola dynasty then named it "Mudikonda Cholamandalam". The Madurai Nayaks called it "Tirunelveli Seemai". Under the British East India Company, it was "Tinnevelly district", which included the modern Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts and parts of the Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts.