The name Stansted goes back to Saxon times, and translates as 'stoney place', a lithic harbinger of the acres of tarmac and concrete that, a millennium later, would characterise the modern airport. The second part of the village's name comes from local land owner William de Mountfichet (1086-1156).

London Stansted Airport (STN) takes its name from the nearby village of Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex, England. The name "Stansted" is derived from Old English, meaning "stony place" (stan meaning stone and stede meaning place). Historically, the site served as an airfield for the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, known as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet. It was a key bomber base during the war and even played a role on D-Day. After the war, it was converted for civilian use and gradually expanded into London's third-busiest airport. Today, it is a major hub for low-cost carriers like Ryanair. The "Mountfitchet" suffix of the nearby village comes from the Norman baron William de Mountfitchet, who built a castle there after the Norman Conquest in 1066. While the airport has grown into a massive international gateway, its name remains a direct link to the humble, stony landscape of the Essex countryside that has been inhabited for over a millennium.