Broughton was first recorded as being part of the manor of Bierton in the late 13th century. The hamlet name is Anglo-Saxon and means farmstead by a brook. The brook in this case is the Bearbrook that rises near Bedgrove, flows through Broughton then back into Aylesbury before joining the River Thame near Quarrendon.
In the 1840s a new branch railway was constructed linking Aylesbury to the Midlands that crossed the road that linked Broughton with Bierton. A public house and signalmen's cottages were constructed at the level crossing and the area became known as Broughton Crossing. Today this is considered a separate hamlet from Broughton itself.
In the 1960s British housing boom land that belonged to the parish of Bierton was sold to developers and the housing estate of Broughton was constructed. The estate is what many local people immediately think of when they hear the word 'Broughton' as it is a very popular estate on which to live. All that separates Broughton hamlet from Broughton estate today is the brook from which the hamlet first took its name.