Named after Kurfürstenstraße, which honours the prince-electors.
Until 1863 the street was called Mühlenstraße (Mill Street). Since then it has been named after the Kurfürsten, the prince-electors who chose the king of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1869 the section further east also took the name, so that the street ran from the Zoologischer Garten to the railway lands.