Elvis. Cher. Prince. Liberace. Bono. Twiggy. Madonna. Sting. See a trend? These are all mononymous celebrities, which is to say they are individuals known and addressed by a single name. We have one more to add.

Toto.

Music loving readers may first think of the musical group, Toto. The band’s website explains the name’s origins: Having just recently watched The Wizard of Oz, the highly regarded studio drummer, Jeff Porcaro, began to write the word “toto” on the band’s demo tapes for them to be easily identifiable. When the time came to choose a name for the band, the band investigated the roots of the word “toto” and learned that in Latin, “toto/totum” means “total” or “all-encompassing.” It resonated with the band members because they had a long list of studio achievements, in large part because they could play in any situation. And so, the name TOTO was chosen as both the band’s name, and the name of the new record.

We, however, are more interested in the iconic little Cairn Terrier from the Wizard of Oz, Toto, and getting to the bottom of his name has been far more challenging, in part because there have been so many theories found on the Internet.

Among them:

•  Toto symbolizes the Eastern philosophy of Totality, a component of Theosophy, and that the name, “Toto,” connotes Totality;

•  Toto represented the Prohibitionist movement, and name was a pun, a shortening of the word “teetotaler;’

•  Because the little dog helped his companions discover themselves and find their way even when the odds seemed stacked against them, it’s possible that the name, “Toto” was chosen for the same reason that the band, Toto, chose it: In Latin, the name can also means “completely towards.” In Business and legal terms, “in toto” is also used to refer to ideas that are complete, or a stance that is focused in full heart.

•  Toto was a popular dog’s name in the 19th century, as well as a common nickname for little boys;

•  Baum may have intended the name, “Toto,” to symbolize the concept of a totem, or animal protector, or perhaps it came from the concept of a tote or small object that could be carried around.

Interestingly, Frank Baum would later name the family dog, “Toto,” but only he could explain why he choose the name, “Toto,” and he died in 1919 without ever explaining it.