Elephant comes from the Greek word "elephas" meaning ivory. This, of course, refers to their tusks. In scientific nomenclature, elephants belong to the order Proboscidae. This word is also Greek referring to the other distinctive elephant anatomy, the trunk.

In understanding elephant evolution, I think we should first discuss zoological nomenclature. In science, animals and plants are classified and named using a universal system and language. At the narrowest or top level is the genus and species. Every animal and plant can be identified by its two-word (genus and species) name. (i.e. Homo sapiens: man). When subspecies are present, this can be a three-word name. (i.e. Elephas maximus maximus: Sri Lankan Asian elephant). If you think of species denoting one kind of animal or plant, then genus would include more than one kind. From the top level to the bottom level the number of animals or plants included in each group increases. In general the major categories of classification listed from top to bottom or low to high are: