The name is based on the story of St Bhrid, who is said to have floated across the Irish Sea on a sod of turf, or to have been carried to Scotland by two oystercatchers.

In recent years the spelling of the village name, with or without a "t", has been a contentious issue (as it has been at Llansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog).

Many finds of Bell Beaker pottery, dating from 2400 to 2000 BC, suggest settlement of the area in the Bronze Age.

A small hilltop enclosure was built around 400 BC where inhabitants grew wheat and barley, and kept cattle, sheep and pigs.

Aerial photography of the area shows evidence that a pit alignment, possibly Iron Age, is present in the grounds of the nearby Bryn Tanat Hall Hotel.

The Plas-Yn-Dinas, 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Offa's Dyke and above the flood plain of the Afon Fyrnwy, is a scheduled ancient monument.

Emerys Benaur was appointed head of the Welsh army, and his victory secured the naming of the township in his honour.

The second recorded battle was fought between Meredydd and Ithel, sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, on one side and Bleddyn and Rhiwallon on the other.

Ithel and Rhiwallon were slain and Meredydd took flight, leaving Bleddyn the sole king of North Wales and Powys.

"[12] The local football team, previously known as Total Network Solutions F.C., won the League of Wales in the 1999–2000 season, the first title since changing its name from Llansantffraid FC.

The New Saints no longer play their football matches in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain, but in Park Hall, a village in Shropshire, 2 miles (3 km) east of Oswestry.