Today's Great Jones Street was named after Samuel Jones, a lawyer who revised New York State's statutes in 1789 together with Richard Varick, and became known as "The Father of The New York Bar".

However, when the street was first created in 1789, the city already had a "Jones Street," Neither brother-in-law would defer to the other to end the resulting confusion, but Samuel Jones finally ended the argument by suggesting "Then make mine 'Great Jones Street'".

[1] The cover photo of the 1963 Bob Dylan album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, depicts Dylan and then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo walking down the center of Jones Street on a wintry February day.

[3][4] Movies filmed on Jones Street include Cruising,[5][6] Bullets Over Broadway,[7] Chinese Coffee,[8] Whatever Works,[9] Addicted to Love[10] and The Irishman.

Scenes from the first episode of the sixth season of Californication[12] were filmed on Jones Street.