It is named after João José da Silva Carrão, a prominent public figure who owned most of the district's area at the end of the 19th century.

[1] In the 16th century, the area of the present district was crossed by the trail connecting the Indian villages of Piratininga and Biacica or Imbiacica (now Itaim Paulista, Vila Curuçá and part of Jardim Helena).

Around the turn of the 20th century, immigrant workers from Portugal, Italy, Spain, and later from Japan came to the area to work at Carrão's farm and at a wool mill, the Lanifícios Minerva S/A, built there in 1906 by Belgian entrepreneurs Paschoal Boronheid and Fernand Delcroix.

Another major factor in the area's development was the installation in the 1930s of a large cotton mill, the Cotonifício Guilherme Giorgi, which at its height employed 2800 workers[citation needed].

[3] In recent years, Carrão has undergone an intense process of real estate expansion, marked by the emergence of new high-end residential buildings as well as prominent commercial ventures.

The extension of São Paulo’s Metro Line 2 plans to build two stations in Carrão: Guilherme Giorgi and Nova Manchester, along with other stops in neighboring districts.