Named after East 180th Street; the station was once also named for Morris Park Avenue.
The station was originally East 180th Street–Morris Park Avenue, after the two streets that meet here. Morris Park Avenue is a main street of Morris Park, named after John Albert Morris, who built the Morris Park Racecourse; horse racing was held there from 1889 to 1904. East 180th Street forms the southern edge of Bronx Park; ‘East’ marks Bronx streets east of Jerome Avenue.