Gissing's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Gyssa's or Gyssi's people.

In 1086, the village was divided between the estates of King William, Robert Malet, Roger Bigod and the Abbey of St. Edmund.

On 29 January 1944, two Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the United States Army Air Force collided in mid-air above Gissing whilst assembling for a strategic bombing raid on Frankfurt.

Gissing falls within the constituency of South Norfolk and is represented at Parliament by Ben Goldsborough of the Labour Party.

[7] Gissing's war memorial takes the form of a rough-hewn Celtic cross with a sword of sacrifice and is located just outside of St. Mary's Churchyard.