The village name 'Marston' is a common one in England, and is Anglo Saxon for 'farm by a marsh'. This refers to the common state of the land in the Aylesbury Vale, where the water table is quite high. The prefix 'North' was added later to distinguish the village from nearby Fleet Marston.
There was once a holy well in the village, dedicated to St John Schorne, who was rector of the parish of North Marston in about 1290. It was he that blessed the well, and since his death it became a resort of great pilgrimage. As late as the Victorian period there was a signpost in the village showing the way to the St John Schorne Shrine, and there are a wealth of local folk tales about him.
The village has, for many years, been the possession of Magdalen College, Oxford. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary.