It was named in the late 1990s after the nearby popular Vesuvio Bakery on nearby Prince Street, which was in turn named for the stratovolcano Mount Vesuvius. The volcano erupted in A.D. 79, destroying the Roman city of Pompeii. The park was named to honor the owner of the bakery; it could not be named after him because Parks Department policy prohibited the naming of the park after a living person. The playground was formerly named Thompson Street Playground, after the adjacent Thompson Street, which was in turn named after Revolutionary War Brigadier General William Thompson in the late 18th century.