The name of the parish comes from the medieval Latin "Perranus in Sabulo" meaning Piran in the sand. Piran (the patron saint of Cornwall) was a Christian evangelist who founded a church in the seventh century near the coast north of Perranporth. The ruins of this church were rediscovered in the 20th century. The medieval parish church of Perranzabuloe was over a long period completely lost in sand dunes. A new church had to be built further away from the coast.