Meaning and background
The story behind Elphaba
Elphaba is a deliberately created literary name with a documented formation. Behind the Name explains that Gregory Maguire devised it for Wicked in 1995 from the initials of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Later stage and film adaptations carried the character’s name further. This gives the spelling a specific authorial history; any association with magic or greenness comes from the character rather than a literal translation.
- Origin
- Gregory Maguire created Elphaba for Wicked in 1995, forming it from the initials of L. Frank Baum. Source
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About Elphaba
Recorded as a dog’s name
Elphaba appears in 4 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
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Sources and research notes (1)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.