Once the band came together, David Paich began composing what would become the eponymous debut album, Toto. According to popular myth, at the first recording sessions, in order to distinguish their own demo tapes from other bands ' in the studio, Jeff Porcaro wrote the word "Toto '' on them. In the early 1980s, band members told the press that the band was named after the dog in The Wizard of Oz. One popular rumor is that the name came from Bobby Kimball 's "true '' last name, Toteaux. This rumor was in fact only a joke popularized by former bassist David Hungate. After the completion of the first album, the band and record were still unnamed. David Hungate, after viewing the name on the demo tapes, explained to the group that the words "In Toto '' in Latin translated to "all - encompassing. '' Because the band members played on so many records and so many musical genres, they adopted the name "Toto '' as their own.
where did the band name toto come from
to distinguish their own demo tapes from other bands ' in the studio, Jeff Porcaro wrote the word "Toto '' on them