Carleton Forehoe's name is of Anglo-Saxon and Viking origin, and derives from an amalgamation of the Old English and Old Norse for a settlement of free men close to four earthen mounds.

Subsequently, census data is listed as the joint parish of Kimberley and Carleton Forehoe.

Carleton Forehoe's parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and dates from the Fifteenth Century.

The village's national constituency is Mid Norfolk which has been represented by the Conservative George Freeman MP.

Carleton Forehoe's war memorial is a marble plaque inside St. Mary's Church.