'Hornchurch' means the horned church.
In 1222 the first written reference to the church calls it monasterium cornutum, the horned church at Havering; the English form Hornechurch is recorded in 1233. Why it was horned is unclear: perhaps horn-like gables, perhaps animal horns. The bull's head at the east end of St Andrew's roof comes from the name, not the other way round; its copper horns were stolen in 1999 and replaced in 2001.