The name of Madras was officially changed to Chennai on 17th July 1996 by the government of Tamil Nadu. This was done to break free from the age-old legacy that was stamped by the British colonizers. Over the years, as a matter of linguistic pride, it became important to reclaim the name of those cities that had the hang of the names given by the previous administrators.
Madras, too, was looked at as colonial rulers’ unwanted legacy, and therefore its name was changed to Chennai. The name Chennai was derived initially from Chennai Pattanam that was a town built by the Britishers.