coffee addict – ” Tefillin is an Aramaic word the Hebrew word would be totafos”
1. The word “totafos” in the Torah is also not a Hebrew word (see Rashi – טט in Coptic meaning two, and פת in Afriki (Phrygian) meaning two (Men. 34b)). I will shortly return to this point!
2. “Totafos” refers only to the tefilah shel Rosh, not the shel yad. I will shortly return to this point too.
We refer to “tefillin” by that name because that was the name it was called in the Mishna (e.g. Eruvin 10:1, Megillah 4:8, Mo`ed Katan 3:4. N’darim 2:2, M’nachot 3:7 and 4:1, Yadayim 3:3) and in Targum (Yonoson and Unkelus), which referred to it by the name Teffillin because that was the name Yidden always called it before the time of Mishna.
Getting back to point #1 above, Rashi brings a SECOND explanation to the word טוֹטָפֹת from his teacher Menachem:
Menachem classified it [טוֹטָפֹת] with “Speak (הַטֵף) to the south” (Ezek. 21:2) and “Preach not (אַל-תּטִּיפוּ)” (Micah 2:6), an expression of speech, like “and as a remembrance” (Exod. 13:9), for whoever sees them [the tefillin] bound between the eyes will recall the miracle [of the Exodus] and speak about it.
This pshat associates טוֹטָפֹת with speech. It is likely why Yidden called them Teffilin, a word associated with Tefilah (Prayer/speech).
Returning to point #2, although I listed numerous Mishna that call them teffillin, we DO find the name totofos also used in Mishna: Shabbos 6:1 and 6:5.
It is interesting to point out that when these Mishna use the word totofos, the Mishna specifically refers to wearing the shel rosh on the head.