Anciently the village was in the county of Buckinghamshire, though was annexed to Milton Keynes in the administrative boundary changes of 1995.
The village name 'Linford' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'ford where maple trees grow'. The affix 'Great' was added later to differentiate between this village, and nearby Little Linford. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as Linforde.
In the early Seventeenth century, the rector of this parish Dr Richard Napier was widely known as a physic, astrologer and curer of souls. He was referred to by many in the upper classeses, including the Earl of Sunderland who lived under his care for some time.
Great Linford was also home to Sir William Pritchard in the later part of that century, who was president of St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He founded almshouses in Great Linford, which are still there today.
The parish church is dedicated to St Andrew.