The name recalls the Surrey Commercial Docks, on the Surrey side of the Thames.
The docks worked from 1696 to 1969, and several were named after where their cargoes came from: Canada Dock, Quebec Pond, Norway Dock and Russia Dock. The station opened in 1869 as Deptford Road and became Surrey Docks in 1911. In 1989 it was renamed Surrey Quays after the new shopping centre, a change some locals felt eroded their heritage.