Named after Währinger Straße, the road to Währing, and the Volksoper opera house.
Währinger Straße got its name in 1862 after where it leads, the suburb of Währing; for centuries it was known as Neuburger Straße. The theatre nearby opened on 14 December 1898 as the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater, marking Franz Joseph’s 50 years on the throne; the subtitle ‘Volksoper’ first appeared in 1904/05, when it began staging operas. The station took the name after the city of Vienna took over the opera house in 1938.