The earliest recorded mention of Winchmore Hill is in a deed dated A.D. 1319 in which it is spelt Wynsemerhull. In Old English, 'merhull' translates according to the "Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names" as 'boundary hill'. It might be speculated that the overall title could mean 'Wynsige's boundary hill'. By 1395 the name had been altered to Wynsmerhull and by 1565 the village was known as Wynsmorehyll, becoming Winchmore Hill by the time it was mentioned in state papers in 1586.