Originally known as Morang,  It was in 1913 that the locality was renamed Mernda, which was derived from a Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) word meaning earth. In 1913, Mernda contained a school, a Methodist church, a Catholic church, a bakery/store, a railway station and a mechanics’ institute, as well as the Bridge Inn Hotel

From the early 2000s, the area began being suburbanised with several new estates being constructed. The suburb of Mernda consists of a number of new and developing housing subdivisions offering the new communities of Mernda Villages, Settlers Hill, Everton Gardens, Bridge Inn Rise, Berry Lane, Mernda Ridge, Woodland Waters, Hawkstowe, Riverdale and Renaissance Rise.

A strategic transport plan developed by the Victorian State Government had earmarked Mernda to be ‘re-connected’ to the rail system by 2027; however, the ‘South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance’ sought an earlier completion date of 2014 due to rising population and congestion in the area. Passenger trains recommenced to Mernda on 26 August 2018 for the first time in almost 60 years.