The Barabanki district was first established by the British upon their annexation of
Oudh State in 1856. Originally, the district was known as Daryabad district because its headquarters were at
Daryabad, but in 1859 they were relocated to Barabanki. The name "Barabanki" was chosen for the district's official name over "
Nawabganj", then the more common name of the town, for two reasons: first, to avoid any possible confusion with other places called Nawabganj, and second, because the civil station was technically located outside of Nawabganj in the small revenue village of Barabanki. Previously, under the
Nawabs of Awadh, the area that would become Barabanki district was divided among five
chaklas: Daryabad-Rudauli, Ramnagar, Dewa-
Jahangirabad Raj, Jagdispur, and Haidargarh. ==Geography==