The district of Kheda takes its name from the town of Kheda which stands on a rising ground near the confluence of the Vatrak and the Shedhi River. English people called it Kaira. In Sanskrit literature, Kheda was called Khetak. Moreover, it was also a main town for a large administrative area called Khetak Ahar or Vishyaya or Mandal akin to the present day district.
Another name of the district in vogue since time immemorial is Charotar. Charotar tract is very fertile and well tilled soil. Even the dialect spoken by the people inhabiting the region is called Charotri. The word Charotar is derived from the Sanskrit word Charu meaning beautiful. The land is fertile and green with vegetation and so it pleases the eye and is called Charotar.
The specific references of the Kheda district and other places therein were found in number of copper plate grants issued by Maitraka Kings of Vallabhi, who ruled over a large part of mainland Gujarat for pretty long period of about three centuries (Circa 470-788 A.D.). After the fall of Vallabhi in 788 A.D., the Rashtrakuta King Karaka II extended his kingdom of Lata northward and shifted his capital to Khetaka. The Rashtrakuta king of Deccan had led a victorious expedition up to the Mahi River. The credit of extending Rashtrakuta power (788-950 A.D.) goes to the King Karka II. The period of 950 to 1300 A.D. is considered as Chalukya period. From 1299 A.D. the Medieval period (1299-1758 A.D.) in the district commenced and it ended with the final defeat of the Mughal Viceroy Morin Khan II by the Marathas.
In 1583 A. D., three English merchants came to India with the intention to open a trade, with the letters from Queen Elizabeth to Akbar, king of Cambay. Their efforts to trade were at first successful. But the Portuguese seized them and they were imprisoned. However, in 1613 A.D. the English merchants got permission to start a factory and in 1616 A.D., the Portuguese were dismissed from the Cambay town. The real connection of the British with Kheda district commenced from 1803 A.D. Part of Kheda district came into British possession in 1803 A.D. and the rest came in 1817 A.D.
From 1817 the district remained under the control of British rule and formed part of the Bombay province. After independence, the former Indian States of Cambay, Balasinor, Poniard, Khodal, Ghodasar, the non-jurisdictional states of Zar and Nirmali, Bhadran and Petlad talukas and 38 villages of Attarsuba taluka of the former Baroda State and six villages of Ahmedabad district, were put into the district Kheda.