'Buckhurst Hill' means a hill covered with beech trees.
The name is Old English and was first recorded in the 12th century as La Bocherste. In 1135 the 'wood of Buckhurt' was granted to Stratford Langthorne Abbey, which owned it until its dissolution in 1538. In the 17th and 18th centuries the place was known as Bucket Hill, before the name settled on its modern form.