The parish was named for the minor title of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron.
It was divided in 1770 and Shelburne Parish was formed from the western half of Loudoun County.
He was the lord proprietor of much of Northern Virginia during the colonial period, which he inherited through his mother's line, the Culpepers.
Thus, Cameron Parish's boundaries included the Potomac River on the north, Bull Run on the south, Goose Creek to the west, and the Fairfax County line in the east.
In 1773, the Sugarland Run Church, a brick structure, was built on a site in present-day Sterling.