Named after Prinzenstraße, named in 1849 after Prince Wilhelm, later Emperor Wilhelm I.
Wilhelm (1797–1888) was Prince of Prussia from 1840 to 1861 and later became German Emperor as Wilhelm I. The street was laid out on the former Köpenicker Feld; in 1960 its northern section in Mitte became Heinrich-Heine-Straße. The elevated station opened in 1902 with the first section of the Berlin U-Bahn and is a listed monument.