'Leyton' means the settlement on the River Lea.
The old ending tun meant a settlement, and the Lea, also called the Ley, runs along the edge of the area. The Domesday Book of 1086 lists six estates at the vill of Leituna or Leintuna. The parish was also known as Low Leyton until 1921, and the station opened in 1856 under that name, becoming plain Leyton in 1867.