Named after the town of Villejuif and the avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier.
Paul Vaillant-Couturier (1892–1937) was a journalist, communist deputy and mayor of Villejuif, and twice editor of the newspaper L'Humanité. The station is subtitled Hôpital Paul Brousse, after the hospital 300 metres away. It opened in 1985.