It was first mentioned in a 1596 population audit book as the village (selo) of Voznesenskoye (Russian: Вознесе́нское, 'Ascension' [of Christ]), later known as Sarapul:[citation needed] "in Kazansky Uyezd in the upper Kama River ... in Sarapul and Siva people fish".

It is believed that the name of this area comes from the word сарапуль (sarapul) which in Chuvash means 'yellow fish', or sturgeon, which was in abundance here.

It was chartered in 1780[2] and by the end of the 18th century had grown into a merchant town with developed footwear manufacturing industry.

The city of Sarapul was one of the residence centers of the Udmurt Jews,[9][10] who spoke Udmurtish Yiddish.

The asteroid 26851 Sarapul was named by astronomer Eric Elst in the city's honor on June 1, 2007.