To be fair it used to have other names too. Originally it was named after a famous brigand, Iancu Jianu (sort of a Robin Hood character) who distinguished himself in the Revolution of 1821.

Then it went Adolf Hitler between 1940-1944 and then Stalin until 1962 (which were clear acts of groveling by the regimes at the time).

But for most of the modern era (50 years) it was known as Aviators' Square, since it sits at the end of Aviators' Boulevard.

The change to de Gaulle only happened in the late 1990s. I'm not even sure why they picked him specifically, and why then, seemed a bit out of nowhere. Probably trying to win political favor with the French or something.