Named after the place and rue Blanche ('white').
The street probably owes its name to the plaster carts from the Montmartre quarries that used it in the 17th century, leaving white trails. A 1672 plan shows it as the rue de la Croix-Blanche, after a cabaret sign, the White Cross; it was renamed in 1793. The place stands on the site of the barrière Blanche, once the barrière de la Croix Blanche.