Origin of The Term
Baum never explained where the term came from, but Baum researcher Brian Attebery has hypothesized that there might be a connection to the emblem of the Bavarian city of Munich (spelled München in German). The symbol was originally a 13th century statue of a monk, looking down from the town hall in Munich. Over the years, the image was reproduced many times, for instance as a figure on beer steins, and eventually evolved into a child wearing a pointed hood. Baum's family had German origins, suggesting that Baum could have seen one such reproduction in his childhood.
It is also conceivable that "Munchkin" is derived from the German word for "mannikin" or "little figure": "Männchen", with "-chen" being the diminutive suffix for "Mann" (man). Southern German dialects use different diminutive suffixes and a "Männchen" is called "Manderl" or "Manschgerl", the latter of which is phonetically very close to munchkin.
Read more about this topic: Munchkin
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