Named after the rue Saint-Sulpice, which runs along the church of Saint-Sulpice.
The church is dedicated to Sulpice the Pious (about 576–647), chaplain to King Clotaire II and from 624 bishop of Bourges. The present building replaced a church of 1211 that had become too small. The street got its name in 1851, when the rue du Petit-Bourbon and the rue du Petit-Lion, named after a sign, were joined.