	In 2019, the type species "Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia" was named and described by Eric Gorscak and Patrick M. O’Connor. The generic name is a contraction of the Kiswahili "Mnyama wa Mtuka", the "Beast of the Mtuka". The describers made explicit that they considered "beast" to be an apt name for a member of the Titanosauria. The specific name is a contraction of "moyo wa mkia", meaning the "heart of the tail" in Kiswahili, a reference to the heart-shaped cross-section of the rear facet of the middle tail vertebrae.