Fort Kochi is a region in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. This is part of a handful of water-bound regions toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Kochi or West Kochi. Adjacent to this is Mattancherry. In 1967, these three municipalities, along with a few adjoining areas, were amalgamated to form the Corporation of Cochin.

One theory for the origin of the name is that it derives from kochazhi which, in Malayalam, denotes "small estuary".^{[citation needed]}

In the BC period, the region that is today known as Kerala was covered by mangrove woods. Turf and sand banks were created with the rise in sea-level which formed the shape of the coastal area as we see it today. The name Cochin implies "co-chin", meaning "like-China". It looked like China when the Chinese came to the region during the 14th century and installed Chinese nets. Mattancherry is the nerve town of old historic Cochin. In old Malayalam it is maadan-cherry, cherry meaning town. Maad or cow was the stamp of Old Royal Fort of Rajah of Cochin, who built his palace after the fall of Kodungallur or Mussaris port due to a gigantic tsunami in 1341 AD.^{[citation needed]} The Perumpadappu Swaroopam or the Forte of Rajah had its palace on the banks of the Calvathy River. Due to frequent wars between King Zamorin of Kozhikode and the western colonial forces, the Rajah left the place for Tripunithura. The king had his vaishnav leanings and cow or maadu was their symbol.

Kochi (Malayalam: കൊച്ചി, Kocci ^?[koˈtʃːi] ( listen)), formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala.

Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the eastern part of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree Islands Development Authority.

The city of Kochi (pop. 601,574) is Kerala's largest city and is part of an extended metropolitan region (pop. 2.1 million), which is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. It is the most densely populated city in the state. Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1 grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. Kochi has been ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine.