The name Ouston most likely originates from the Middle English "Ulfkell's Farmstead", suggesting that the village began as a single farm sometime in the 10th or 11th centuries. Ulfkell is in origin a Danish name which was commonly used in England at this time. The place name is first recorded as "Ulkestan" in documents of 1328 and "Ulleston" in Bishop Hadfield's survey of 1382. The modern growth and development of the village is largely due to the neighbouring Low Urpeth Colliery, which was worked from the early 19th century.