 Prior to its inclusion in the then city of Madras, Mambalam was a village in the Saidapet taluk of Chingleput district.The oldest surviving reference to Mambalam is believed to be in a 1726 stone plaque commemorating the construction of the Marmalong Bridge (now known as Maraimalai Adigal Bridge) across the Adyar river by the merchant Coja Petrus Uscan.The bridge is believed to have been named after the village of Marmalong or Marmalan identified with Mambalam.