The name comes from the Old English words smiþ ('craftsman, smith') in its genitive plural form smiþa and tūn ('estate, village').

Great Smeaton was an important coaching stage; one of the original four inns still remain, the Black Bull; the Bay Horse having recently closed.

Those that have gone were the Golden Lion at Entercommon and the Blacksmiths Arms in the village, which also traded as the Post Office in the 1840s.

Anne of Denmark had dinner at Smeaton on 10 June 1603 on her way to London from Edinburgh, and travelled on to stay the night at Breckenbrough Castle, home of Thomas Lascelles of Brackenborough and Sowerby.

Amenities that remain include the pubs and the church, Great Smeaton Community Primary School, the village hall and a saddlery shop.