The name Cumberland was conferred by Governor Arthur Phillip in honour of Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn at a gathering to celebrate the birthday of his brother, George III, on 4 June 1788.

In the nineteenth century, parts of the county were in the South and North Riding electoral districts from 1856 to 1859, which were replaced by Central Cumberland.

There were thirteen hundreds in Cumberland County, which were published in a government gazette on 27 May 1835, but repealed on 21 January 1888.

[2] Previously, the subdivisions of the area since the beginning of the colony were called districts.

[3] Further out of the city, the parishes of St John, St Luke, St Peter and St Matthew, in the Parramatta, Liverpool, Campbelltown and Windsor areas respectively, have Anglican churches which bear the same saints names; St John's in Parramatta (opened 1803); St.Luke's in Liverpool (building began 1818); St.Peter's in Campbelltown (opened 1823, the third oldest Anglican church in Australia); and St. Matthew's in Windsor (consecrated in 1822) A full list of parishes found within this county; the LGAs which the parish is mostly in (most parish boundaries do not match LGA boundaries exactly), and mapping coordinates to the approximate centre of each location is as follows: The first subdivisions of the county were called districts, shown in early maps from the period, such as 21 districts on an 1810 map and 37 districts on an 1824 map (not including Philip which was across the Nepean River and not part of the county).