 The name of the village is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "crumb", meaning ""a bend in the river"".The village was served by Howsham railway station on the York to Scarborough Line between 1845 and 1849. though it is shown as "Crambe station" on Moule's 1850s maps of North and East Yorkshire.The school at Crambe was built by local landowner Colonel Cholmley of Howsham in 1841 and is a Grade II listed building.