Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala , India . The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and Kozhikode District to the south. To the east the district is bounded by the Western Ghats , which forms the border with Karnataka state, in its districts of Kodagu and Chamarajanagar . The Arabian Sea lies to the west. Kannur is the most urbanised district in Kerala, with more than 50 % of its residents living in urban areas. Kannur has an urban population of 1 ,212 ,898 , which is the second largest in Kerala after Ernakulam district [ 1 ] . Kannur District is known as the land of looms and lores, because of the loom industries functioning in the district and festivals held in temples . The district is a major centre of Theyyam , a ritual dance of northern Kerala. Small shrines known as kavus associated with the Theyyam dot the district. The district is set to have a new international airport, the fourth in Kerala.