The cemetery takes its name from the confessor to Louis XIV, Père François de la Chaise (1624–1709), who lived in the Jesuit house rebuilt in 1682 on the site of the chapel. At the time of its opening, the cemetery was considered to be situated too far from the city. Consequently, the administrators devised a marketing strategy and organised the transfer of the remains of the famous to the cemetery. Within a few years, Père Lachaise went from containing a few dozen permanent residents to more than 33,000.