The name "Mannanana" was first recorded on maps by Herbert Basedow. It comes from "", which is actually the Pitjantjatjara name for the range immediately to the west. This western range takes its name from (meaning "woman's buttocks"), which is a formation overlooking Kaltukatjara and the Docker River on the range's western end. The name for the Mannanana Range in Pitjantjatjara is , after the Tjunti soakage at its eastern end.