Archaeological evidence shows habitation in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain. The settlement after the Norman conquest was called "Bretlinton", later "Berlington", "Brellington" and "Britlington", before gaining its present name in the 19th century. The 1086 "Domesday Book" has "Bretlinton". The several suggested origins all trace the name to the Anglo-Saxon custom of matching a personal name with a settlement type. Here the personal names advanced include Bretel, Bridla and Berhtel, attached to , a Saxon term for a farm.