Named after the pont Cardinet, where the rue Cardinet crosses the Saint-Lazare railway tracks.
The rue Cardinet bears the name of a landowner, Philippe Cardinet (1737–1822), a caterer and wine merchant; his widow opened the first stretch around 1834. The railway station beside the bridge, opened in 1854 as Batignolles, was rebuilt in 1922 at the corner of the pont Cardinet and took the name Pont Cardinet.