 The name is derived from the "Marla Bore" which is located to west of Marla and whose name is reported as being ultimately "a corruption of the Aboriginal marlu - ‘a kangaroo’".Geoffrey H. Manning, the South Australian historian, reports that the town was proclaimed as a place for "the provision of essential services to travellers crossing the continent" and to act as an administrative centre for the north-west part of the state including the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands and the Mintabie Opal Field to the town's west.The Stuart Highway passes through the south-west side of Marla while the alignment of the Adelaide-Darwin railway is located outside of its boundaries on the south-west side of the highway.