Named after the porte de Vanves, one of the old gates of Paris.
Despite its name, the gate leads to the town of Malakoff; the road to Vanves starts at the porte Brancion, further west. Malakoff's land, long called Petit-Vanves, was part of Vanves until a decree of 8 November 1883. Its name recalls the Malakoff tower near Sevastopol, taken by French troops in 1855, which Alexandre Chauvelot rebuilt in a local theme park.