Gluay nom nang yak, literally translates as ‘giantess' breast banana’, and is the Thai nickname given to this thick and large kind of wild banana.

The name relates to the fact that these bananas are reminiscent of the breasts (nom) of a female (nang) giantess (yak), i.e. a mythological character with large sagging breasts (fig.), who regularly appears in Thai folk stories (fig.).