The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'hill where wheat is grown'.

The village is referred to several times in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle generally in the form of Hwætædun.

The village is at the centre of the ancient Whaddon Chase, the site for many centuries of royal hunting lands.

Richard Cox (ca.1500 – 1581), an English clergyman, who was Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely, was born at Whaddon.

[4] During the Second World War Whaddon Hall served as headquarters of Section VIII (Communications) of MI6, as an outpost of Bletchley Park.