The village name 'Lillingstone' is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Lytel's boundary stone', referring to the proximity of the village to the border with Northamptonshire. In the Domesday Book of 1086 both this village and the neighbouring hamlet of Lillingstone Lovell were recorded jointly as Lillingestan though already at that time there were two manors owned respectively by the Dayrell and Lovell families. The affix 'Dayrell' was first recorded in 1166.
The parish church of Lillingstone Dayrell is dedicated to St Nicholas of Myra.