Wat Mangkon Kamalawat was founded as a Mahayana Buddhist temple in 1871[4] or 1872[2] (sources differ), by Phra Archan Chin Wang Samathiwat (also known as Sok Heng), initially with the name Wat Leng Noei Yi. It was later given its current name, Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, meaning "Dragon Lotus Temple", by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).[4]