It was named after Richard Edward O'Connor (1851–1912), who was a judge in the High Court and a founder of the Australian constitution.

[3][4] The ACT Heritage Council has also listed the Scout Hall at the corner of Hovea Street and Boronia Drive.

It was originally built as a mess hall for construction workers at Old Parliament House and was later moved to Kingston and used as an office of the United Friendly Society.

[6] The small part of the suburb to the east of Sullivans Creek has been redeveloped under a policy permitting two and three-storey flats.

The O'Connor Ridge is a large strip of land that is use for bush walking and mountain biking and is a part of the Canberra Nature Park.

[1] The Statistical Areas Level 1 (SAL1) data for the 2021 Census indicated a median weekly family income variability across O'Connor's SAL1 divisions of $2,625 to $4,166.

In the ACT Legislative Assembly, Lyneham is part of the electorate of Kurrajong, which elects five members on the basis of proportional representation, two Labor, two Greens and one Liberal.