Named after the rue des Maraîchers ('market gardeners').
The street takes its name from the market gardens that once surrounded it, in the former village of Charonne. Their best-known produce was the Montreuil peach. The street was formed from two older ones, the rue du Chemin-de-Fer and the rue des Quatre-Jardiniers ('four gardeners'), joined under today's name by an order of 3 September 1869.