The name Yamanlar literally translates to the capable ones, although the adjective yaman also has a number of negative connotations. The name is likely derived from the name of a monastery built in the beginning of the 13th century by John III Doukas Vatatzes. The monastery must have been named Amanariotissa or Mary of Amanara, and was founded on the western slopes or foothills facing Smyrna of the Mount Nif, which itself was one of the mountains called Olympus in ancient times, hence the name of the principal monastery, Lembos. An impression about the status of the village in Mount Yamanlar, then called Genikon or Jenikou is created by a document of the 13th century written by the inhabitants by which they donated to the monastery of Lembos another monastery, that of Amanariotissa, which was located within their territory.