 In 1827, Edward Ermatinger recorded the lake's name in his journal as Lac La Nane or “Lac La Nan“.It has been suggested that the name comes from the white-winged scoter, a duck with features similar to ducks in England known as "the nun".The Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at the lake in the early 19th century; by the 1830s there were many Métis, and by the 1870s a Catholic mission had been established.