Named after the place des Fêtes ('square of festivities') of the old village of Belleville.
In 1836 the commune of Belleville bought the land from the Paris hospices and set it aside for the public festivities held until then in front of the church. In 1863, after Belleville joined Paris, the square, then called place Sainte-Geneviève, was officially taken into the Paris street network; in 1879 the rue de la Place was merged into it.