According to the legends, the name of Udupi was derived from its Tulu name, Odipu. Its Tulu name is closely associated with a temple located at Malpe, devoted to Lord Vadabhandeshwara. One another story explains that the name of the Udupi district is a combination of two Sanskrit words such as Udu and Pa which mean "stars" and "lord." As per the legends, a mythological story is also associated with the name of the district, the moon's light was once reduced due to a curse by King Daksha, whose 27 daughters (the 27 stars, according to Hindu astrology) were married to the moon. The moon then prayed to the Lord Shiva in order to get back its original shine. Lord Shiva was so pleased with the prayer of Moon and restored its earlier shine. Legends believe that the moon and his wives offered their prayer at the Chandramouleeshwara temple situated at Udupi by creating a linga that can be seen even today as well. Thus, according to this story, Udupi means the land of the "lord of the stars," i.e. the Moon.

Ashwini Chidananda Shetty Akkunji (born 7th October, 1987) is an Indian athlete. She won Gold Medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 Asian Games in 4x400 m relay team event and an individual gold medal in the 400 meters hurdles in 2010 Asian Games. She received the Rajyotsava Prashasti in the year 2010 by the Government of Karnataka. Mamatha Poojary is known as Kabaddi Queen born in the year 1986. She is the Captain of the Indian women’s Kabaddi team. She is awarded with the Rajyotsava Prashasti by the Government of Karnataka.

Geographically, the district has total 3,582 sq. km. and occupies the ranks 27th in State and 345th in India. It lies at 13°33'N latitude, 74°75'E longitude and 39 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 63.00% forest area of total geographical area. It is bounded by Uttara Kannada district in North, Dakshina Kannada district in South, Shivamogga district on North East, Chikkamagaluru district on East, Arabian Sea on West. It has tropical climate. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 4604.6 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administrative wise, the district is divided into 3 sub-districts, 20 towns and 233 villages. Kannada is its official language. The district of Udupi came into existence on the 24th August, 1997 in the state of Karnataka with an allotted district code of 569. Its district headquarter is at Udupi which is located at a distance of 399 km. from the State Capital.

Demographically, according to 2011 census, the district has a total number of 2,46,313 households with a total population of 11,77,361 of which 5,62,131 are males and 6,15,230 are females and causing it to rank 23rd in the state and 402nd in India. The density of population of the district is 329 persons per sq km. The sex ratio is pegged at 1094 (females per 1000 males) while the child ratio stands at 958 (females per 1000 males). As per 2011 census the percentage of major religions practiced by the people of this region is Hindu at 85.72% and Muslim at 8.22%. The population growth rate during the period 2001 to 2011 was 5.85% out of which 7.64% were males and 4.27% were females. According to 2011 census the percentage of the principal languages spoken in the region is Kannada at 42.70%, Tulu at 31.44% and Konkani at 12.16%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 15,242 out of which 7,746 were males and 7,496 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 12,282 out of which 7,158 were males and 5,124 were females.

Economically, agriculture is the back bone of the district. It produces rice, coconut, cashew and areca nut. The district also has a Karnataka Milk Federation (a dairy plant). It has both inland and deep sea fishing. Main centers for fishing are Malpe, Gangolli and Arabian Sea. There are small-scale industries mainly such as some red clay tile (Mangalore tile), cashew nut, and coconut oil industries. Public sector banks namely Vijaya Bank, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank and Syndicate Bank are available here. The district also has home for some computer software companies like Robosoft Technologies, Source Hub India Pvt Ltd and Data Tree IT Services, United Spectrum Solutions-Mobile Application, Manipal Digital systems. The district has a thermal power plant in Nandikoor to generate electricity. In the year 2019-20 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 41,55,095 lakhs at current price and Rs. 30,58,607 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2019-20 was Rs. 37,90,114 lakh at current price and Rs. 27,62,599 lakh at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2019-20 was Rs. 2,97,524 at current price and Rs. 2,16,864 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012.

Education wise, according to 2011 census, the literacy rate is 86.24% out of which 91.4% are males and 81.58% are females. The total literate population in the district is 9,26,429 persons out of which 4,65,704 are males and 4,60,725 are females. All schools in the districts conduct 10th and 12th standard exams under Karnataka State Education Board. Schools, colleges and institutes of higher learning are run by international renowned educational institutions namely The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and The Nitte University. The name of some famous educational institutes is Bhandarkars Arts & Science College, Crossland College, KMC International Center, Moodlakatte Institute of Technology, N.M.A.M. Institute of Technology, Shri Madhwa Vadiraja Institute of Technology & Management, Vaikunta Baliga College of Law, Jaycees English Medium School, Little Rock Indian School and Nirmala High School, Brahmavar etc.

Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya was born on 8th October, 1931. He is an Indian politician. He served as Governor of Nagaland on 14th July, 2014. He also became the Honorable Governor of Assam in 2014.

The district has numerous famous historical and religious places to visit. These places are Karkala, Maravanthe, Udupi, Attur, Padutirupathi Sree Venkataramana Temple, Attur St. Lawrence Church, Water Sports, Bijadi, Kundapur, Kaup Beach, Manipal, Pajaka, Shri Anjaneya Temple, Shri Brahma Lingeshwara Temple, Shri Chennakeshava Temple, Shri Durga Parameshwari Temple, Shri Guru Narasimha Temple, Shri Mahathobhara Shree Mahalingeshwara Temple, Shri Sitaramchandra Temple, Shri Vishnumurthy Temple, Shri Yele Mahalingeshwara Temple, Sri Lakshmi Ventkatarama Temple, Shri Kantheshwara Temple and Padmavati Temple. During the year 2016, there were 1,474 foreign tourists and 78,05,403 domestic tourists who visited above places.