The name Wawer comes from the name of the Wawer inn ("Karczma Wawer", currently known as "Zajazd Napoleoński"). The oldest mention of the tavern comes from 1727, and the Wawer colony was established in 1838. First settlers appeared in 1839. During the November Uprising, the first and second Wawer battles took place here in early 1831.