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Kannur district derived its name from the location of its headquarters at Kannur town. The old name 'Cannanore' is the anglicised form of the Malayalam word Kannur. According to one opinion, 'Kannur' is a derivation from Kanathur, an ancient village, the name of which survives even today in one of the wards of Kannur Municipality. Another version is that Kannur might have assumed its name from one of the , deities of the Hindu pantheon, a compound of two words, Kannan (Lord Krishna) and Ur (place) making it the place of Lord Krishna. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the deity of the Katalayi Sreekrishna temple was originally installed in a shrine at Katalayi Kotta in the south eastern part of the present Kannur town.

Kannur is said to be the ancient port of Naura, from whose shores King Solomon’s ships collected timber to build the great temple of Jerusalem. Known even to the Greeks, Romans and the Arabs, Kannur’s trade links goes back a long way. Acclaimed by celebrated traveller Marco Polo as the great emporium of the spice trade, this nature-rich land has been a key contributor to the cultural, religious, political and industrial heritage of the State. Bounded by the Western Ghats in the east and the Lakshadweep Sea in the west, Kannur showcases its remarkable history in the ancient forts, old shrines and august cultural and educational institutions that dot its scenic landscape.