Named after the rue Mabillon, which honours the Benedictine monk Jean Mabillon (1632–1707).
From 1664 he lived at the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he is buried. He is considered the founder of diplomatics, the science of dating and authenticating old documents. The street opened in 1817; part of it was laid out in 1854 on a passage to the Saint-Germain fair, then called rue de la Foire.