Its name was originally Norberton(e), [from the Old English north buritum' or granary], as it was named in a similar way to Surbiton on the opposite side of the Hogsmill River.
Norbiton's housing stock largely consists of large family Victorian and Edwardian houses, plus small localised brownfield redevelopments of 1960s, 1980s and modern flats. It contains more council and social housing than most other areas of Kingston - one of the largest such sites, the New Cambridge Estate, is used as a fictional council estate in TV drama The Bill.
A notable resident was Cesar Picton, an African enslaved at the age of six, who lived as a servant (though evidently a very favoured one) at Norbiton Place for nearly thirty years from 1761, before becoming a highly successful coal-merchant in Kingston.
Norbiton is represented on the local council by veteran Labour Councillor of 35 years Steve Mama, Independent (and former Labour) Councillor Sheila Griffin, and Liberal Democrat Councillor Penny Shelton.
