Located in Norwood Park Township, the first names of what would become Norridge were "Goat Village", due to a local resident's goat farm, and "Swamp" due to a lack of streets and the area's swamp-like conditions. Norridge began as an subdivision that ran from Ozanam Avenue in the west to Olcott Avenue in the east and from Irving Park Road in the south to Montrose Avenue in the north. In 1948, a local improvement association incorporated Norridge as a village, stymieing an effort by Chicago to annex the area.