Named after Hampstead Heath, an ancient heath on a sandy ridge.
'Hampstead' simply means homestead. The heath's story on paper begins in 986, when Ethelred the Unready granted five hides of land at Hemstede to the Abbot of Westminster; by the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the Manor of Hampstead. In the 19th century up to 100,000 people a day used this station at weekends and on holidays to reach the heath.