The village was originally just called "Woughton": the suffix was added in the Victorian period to distinguish the village from other nearby places with the same name. On the Green refers to the large grassy area that lay in the centre of the village: the traditional village green.
In the Domesday Book of 1086 Woughton on the Green was recorded as Ulchetone. This is an Anglo Saxon name, which means Eoca's Farm. The village had gained its more modern name by the mid 12th century when the manor was recorded as belonging to the Verley family.
By the time of the coronation of Queen Victoria Woughton on the Green was a large village, due largely to the railway that passed through to the nearby parish of Wolverton and the Grand Union Canal.
Today the village is a suburb of Central Milton Keynes, though the residents like to maintain their autonomy. The parish council still meets at the parish church of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.