Named after the place Pigalle and the rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle, which honour the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785).
The sculptor had his studio in the street, once rue Royale, then rue de la République and rue de l'An VIII, which became rue Pigalle in 1803 and took his full name in 1993. The square, first called place de la Barrière-Montmartre, became place Pigalle in 1864 and gave its name to the whole quarter.