Matsu is named after the Taoist deity Matsu. Legend has it that during the reign of the Song emperor Taizu (960-975) a spiritually wise girl named Lin Moniang jumped into the sea to save her father. She drowned, and her body floated to a Fujianese island, which was later named Matsu in her honor.
「馬祖」地名就是來自於女神「媽祖」的傳說：約一千年前的宋太祖年間，通天地玄機的林默娘投海尋父，罹難肉身飄至此地，於是當地沿用「媽祖」之名，日後才改其諧音「馬祖」。