Vadodara District is a district in the eastern part of the state of Gujarat in western India. The city of Vadodara (Baroda), in the western part of the district, is the administrative headquarters. Vadodara District covers an area of 7,794 km². It had a population of 3,641,802 of which 45.20% were urban as of 2001 census. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Gujarat (out of 26), after Ahmadabad and Surat.[1]

The district is bounded by Panchmahal and Dahod districts to the north, Anand and Kheda districts to the west, Bharuch and Narmada districts to the south, and the state of Madhya Pradesh to the east. The tallest point in the region is the hill of Pavagadh. The Mahi River passes through the district.

The historical city of Baroda was the capital of Baroda Residency, and one of the princely states of India under Bombay Presidency.

Baroda is situated on the banks of the river Vishwamitri (whose name is derived from the saint Rishi Vishwamitra). The city was once called Chandravati, after its ruler Raja Chandan, then Viravati, the abode of the brave, and then Vadpatra because of the abundance of banyan trees on the banks of the Vishwamitri. From Vadpatra it derived its present name Baroda or Vadodara.

Vadodara, formerly known as Baroda, is the third largest and most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat, after Ahmedabad and Surat. Historical and archaeological findings date this place back to the 9th century when it was a small town called Ankottaka (present Akota) located on the right bank of the river Vishvamitri (whose name is derived from the great saint Rishi Vishwamitra). Ankottaka was a famous centre of Jainism in the 5th and 6th century AD. Some of the Akota bronze images can be seen in the Vadodara Museum. The city was once called Chandanavati after its ruler Raja Chandan of Dor tribe of Rajputs, who wrested it from the Jains. The capital had also another name "Virakshetra" or "Virawati" (a land of warriors). Later on it was known as Vadpatraka or Wadodará, which according to tradition is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word Vatodar means 'in the heart of the banyan tree'. It is now almost impossible to ascertain when the various changes in the name were made; but early English travellers and merchants mention the town as Brodera, and it is from this that the name Baroda is derived. Again in 1974 the name changed to Vadodara.