The zone where Chillán was built was previously inhabited by indigenous people called Chiquillanes.
According to Friar Ernesto Wilhelm de Moesbach Chillán is etymologically derived from "chilla", an indigenous word for the South American gray fox.
Chillán was founded in 1580 at the site of Chillán Viejo as San Bartolomé de Chillán by Martín Ruiz de Gamboa