Deoria district, one of the districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India has its headquarters located at Deoria and is a part of Gorakhpur division. It came into existence on 16 March 1946 from Gorakhpur district.Name Deoria is after Deoraha baba

The area now known as the Deoria District was once a part of the Kosala Kingdom - a prime centre of ancient Aryan culture surrounded by the Himalayas in the north, the Shyandika river in the south, the Panchala Kingdom in the west and the Magadh Kingdom in Bihar to the east. Apart from the many legends told about this area, archaeological remains, such as statues, coins, bricks, Temples. Most of the People using surname Rao belong to the Kshatria cast in Deoria Dist,. The ancient history of the district is related with the Ramayana times when the Lord of Kosala, Ram, appointed his elder son Kusha the king of Kushwati, which is present-day Kushinagar. Before the Mahabharata era, this area had been related with Chakravorty Samrat Mahasudtsan Malla and his kingdom. Kushinagar was well developed and prosperous. Close to the border of his kingdom was the thick forested area called the Mahavan. This area was under the control of the Maurya rulers, the Gupta rulers, the Bihar rulers, and then the Garhwal ruler Govinda Chandra from 1114 AD until 1154 AD.

Modern

The Deoria district came into existence on 16 March 1946, being separated from the Gorakhpur District. It is believed that the name Deoria is derived from Devaranya or possibly Devpuria. According to official gazetteers, the district was named "Deoria" after its headquarters in Deoria, and the term Deoria generally means a place where there are temples. The name Deoria probably developed because of the existence of important temples in the area. During Freedom struggle of India the district joined struggle under the leadership of Pandit Bibhuti Mani Tripathi of village Dehrauli, Rudrapur.