"anningasaura" was first described and named by peggy vincent and roger b. j. benson in 2012 and the type species is "anningasaura lymense". the generic name honors mary anning, a british fossil collector who became known around the world for finds she made in the jurassic marine fossil beds at lyme regis in dorset. the specific name is derived from the name of the lyme regis locality where the only known specimen was collected.