Ormeau Avenue, like Ormeau Road, takes its name from Ormeau House which was built for the second Marquis of Donegall, George Augustus Chichester. Ormeau is a French word, a derivative of orme, 'elm', meaning 'young elm'.
“The Fountain, then Belfast’s main reservoir, was near the Ormeau Baths, in the early 19th century, just off a bend of the Blackstaff River. Its junction with Cromac Street was known as Water Row in the mid 1800s. Ormeau Avenue was built by Belfast Corporation in the 1880s and had a considerable presence of linen companies. (Linen Quarter Document).