The civil parish now called Little Altcar was created in 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, which split the former parish of Altcar between Lancashire and the new metropolitan county of Merseyside. The parts in each county became new parishes, with the parish in Lancashire taking the name Great Altcar. The parish in Merseyside was initially called simply "Altcar", changing to "Altcar-in-Merseyside" in 1977, before changing again to "Little Altcar" on 19 November 1987.
