It was named after FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the Crimean War from 1850 to 1855.

Raglan Public School opened in December 1870, and has been on its current Nelson Street site since 1988.

[8] Mars Petcare opened a $100 million upgrade of their Raglan manufacturing facility in May 2015.

[9][10] The suburb was formerly home to the Bathurst Brick Company factory, which relocated to Raglan in 1977 until its closure in 1998, seven years after being purchased by CSR Limited.

[12] The village was subject to a controversial proposal for a two-storey, 48-room motel, petrol station, convenience store, seven shops and a 111-unit self-storage facility on a disused nursery site in 2014; however, this has not been built.