Hayley Sarah Murdoch, 29, and Sheila Dixon, 71, were pronounced dead at the scene on the A595 near Newby Cross and Sowerby Wood on Tuesday.
They were passengers in a Kia Picanto driven by an 74-year-old man who suffered life-threatening injuries.
He and another passenger, a three-year-old boy, were flown to hospital by air ambulance. The boy is poorly but stable, police said.
All of the car's occupants were from Carlisle.
The driver of a Ford Transit van also involved in the crash - a 51-year-old man from Aspatria - was taken to Carlisle Infirmary with minor injuries.
Two women who died in a crash near Carlisle have been named.