'Debden' means the deep valley.
The name, Deppendana in the Domesday Book of 1086, comes from Old English dep, deep, and den, valley; the valley was presumably cut by the River Roding. The area is named after the old manor of Debden, which became the property of Waltham Abbey in 1086. The station opened in 1865 as Chigwell Road, soon became Chigwell Lane, and became Debden in 1949, when the Central line took over.