Mangatarem derived its name from the combination of the Ilocano word “Manga ken Tirem” which means “mango and oyster”.  According to old tales, the name “Mangatarem” was attributed to woodcutters who happened to meet each other in a forested area which is now the present site of the town.  One of them had a mango as his viand while the other one had oysters.  When both of them saw this, they exclaimed “Manga ken Tirem”, thus, the name Mangatirem or Mangatarem.

The municipality is home to the Manleluag Hot Spring Protected Landscape located in Barangay Malabobo near the southern boundary of the municipality.

In terms of economic activities, Mangatarem is primarily driven by agriculture. The municipality has the biggest land area in the entire Pangasinan province. A big percentage of its households also have family members who are working or have migrated abroad.

The town’s poblacion area continues to attract major food, retail, and service establishments from Metro Manila and nearby cities within the province of Pangasinan. The more popular retail and food include Magic Group of Companies (Magic Mall), CSI Supermarket, Puregold, McDonald’s, Jollibee, Mang Inasal, 7-Eleven, and Mercury Drug, among many others. Service establishments include banks, couriers, pawnshops, auto/motorcycle service shops, these include Metrobank, Land Bank of the Philippines, and many others.

The town’s public market serves not only the residents but also the residents and farmers or entrepreneurs from the adjoining towns of Urbiztondo, Aguilar, and San Clemente (Tarlac), especially on weekends. This is one of the reasons that major commercial establishments started to take notice of the municipality and decided to set up their branches here.