Trang was an important sea port of southern Thailand. Legend says the ships always arrived in the morning, which led to the town's name - Trang derives from the Malay word for "light' (Terang). The province was once a part of the ancient Kedah Tua Kingdom - A Kedahan-Malay kingdom.
According to cultural records Trang was be one of 12 satellite towns that existed about 900 years ago, but it was during the reign of King Rama II that the province got its first governor. The first Westerner to arrive in Trang was Captain James Low, who came in 1838 to negotiate commercial benefits.
The original town was located in Khuanthani (now a tambon in district Kantang). In 1893, the governor, Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi, also known as Khaw Sim Bee na Ranong, decided to make Trang an important seaport and relocated the town to Kantang district on the Trang River delta. It was moved again to its present location 26 km inland in 1916 by King Rama VI dbecause of repeated floodings.
Trang was the first area of Thailand where rubber trees were planted, brought there by governor Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi from British Malaya in 1899
