The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'homestead where leeks are grown'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village was recorded as Lechamstede.
In the middle of the Sixteenth century the village was split into two halves, Leckhampstead Magna and Leckhampstead Parva, with the foundation of a manor in the latter. However within a couple of centuries the two halves were joined up again when the incumbent of Leckhampstead Magna inherited Leckhampstead Parva.
The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. The village should not be confused with other places called Leckhampstead.