The densely populated central part of the town, where 9,597 people resided at the 2020 census,[3] is defined as the Hampton census-designated place (CDP) and centers on the intersection of U.S. 1 and NH 27.

First called the "Plantation of Winnacunnet", Hampton was one of four original New Hampshire townships chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts, which then held authority over the colony.

In March 1635, Richard Dummer and John Spencer of the Byfield section of Newbury, Massachusetts, came round in their shallop, coming ashore at the landing, and were much impressed by the location.

The Massachusetts General Court of March 3, 1636, ordered that Dummer and Spencer be given power to "To presse men to build there a Bound house.

"[4] The town was settled in 1638 by a group of parishioners led by Oxford University graduate Reverend Stephen Bachiler, who had formerly preached at the settlement's namesake: Hampton, England.

His descendant Thomas Leavitt, Esq., lived in Hampton Falls, and was the leading Democratic politician in southern New Hampshire for many years.

[9] Later members of the family ran Leavitts' Hampton Beach Hotel, a fixture in the area for generations.

[10] The highest point in Hampton is Bride Hill (approximately 150 feet (46 m) above sea level), near the town line with Exeter.