History of Gurgaon District suggests the origin of its name. It says that Gurgaon District derived its name from the name of Guru Dronacharya; the village was given to him as `gurudakshina` by his students; Pandavas. Hence, it came to be known as Guru-gram, which in course of time got distorted to its present name Gurgaon. Thus the district has been in existence since the times of Mahabharata.

Further, the history of Gurgaon District states that during the reign of Akbar, the district fell within the subas of Delhi and Agra, and comprised the sirkars of Delhi, Rewari, Suhar Pahari and Tijara. With the fall of Mughal Empire, it came under the British rule through the Treaty of Surji Arjungaon with Sindhia. The town was first occupied by the cavalry unit. The civil offices were removed from Bharawas (tehsil Rewari) in 1821 AD, when the British frontier advanced through the acquisition of Ajmer territory.

The adjoining boundaries of this district were subjected to consistent changes. Gurgaon District was divided into Parganas by British rulers and various Parganas were given to petty chiefs and granted as jagirs in lieu of military services rendered by them. These jagirs were gradually resumed and came under the direct management of the British; the last of the important changes took place in around 1836 AD. There after, the district remained unchanged until the 1857 uprising. In 1858 AD it was transferred from the North Western Provinces to Punjab. Moreover, in the composition of Gurgaon District since the beginning of the 20th century various changes have occurred.

No major change took place during 1901 to1911. Ballabgarh was one of the three tehsils comprising the then Delhi district. A part of this tehsil was transferred to Gurgaon District in 1912. This was formed into the new sixth Tehsil of the district with the same name. Minor changes occurred between Gurgaon District and Uttar Pradesh during 1931 to 1941. Under the Provinces and States Order 1950, nine villages of the district including Shahjahanpur were transferred to Rajasthan. Further, during 1951 to 1961, there was no significant change in the boundary of the district. In 1972, Rewari Tehsil was excluded from Gurgaon District and included in Mahendragarh district and in 1974, 34 villages were excluded from Palwal Tehsil. On 15th of August, 1979, Gurgaon District was further divided to form a new district Faridabad in which tehsils of Ballabgarh and Palwal were merged.