I don't recall ever seeing a name beside the acronym but the information presented by Roger and Don is in keeping with what I thought might be its derivation.
When I read the question, the first thing that popped into my mind was the information presented in Masaaki Imai's "Kaizen". In his book, he is very deliberate in mentioning TQC (or CWQC) in Japanese thinking is very different than in Western cultures. This is in keeping with Don's recollection. When the Japanese think of Total Quality Control, they are not thinking of things like Inspection Technologies as is often the case here in the States. We relate Quality Control practices with Detection quality practices. Japan correlates TQC with Kaizen. When you read about TQM, they often describe the Seven Statistical Tools. In Japanese Kaizen, these same seven tools (and seven new ones) are described. The philosophy is also the same. IMHO, our definition of TQM is the same as Japan's definition of Kaizen (TQC or CWQC).
The roots of Kaizen as near as I can tell go back to the post WWII days in Japan. Influence of Deming and Juran helped to reshape the Japanese businessman. Sometimes overlooked, Feigenbaum's influence was also quite impactful.
His book Total Quality Control was released in 1951, and in it he details all aspects of Total Quality practices. He does not limit his book to the traditionally thought of Quality Control Practices (I have reread this book several times and find it to be the best source of information, especially for the novice Quality professional). Armand spends a good deal of time dealing with Process related topic and Process Control Engineering. This is definately in keeping with Kaizen.
Imai's book gives a great deal of credit to many notable Japanese figureheads in Quality. My best recollection is that he tended to give Kauru Ishikawa the greatest amount of credit in the TQC push. Ishikawa, a contemporary of Deming, Juran, and Feigenbaum was influenced by these men, and, these men were equally influenced by him. It could be that TQM as we know it was compiled by several great Quality gurus who, knowingly or not, contributed to it.
Well, just some thoughts coming out of my head. I think Don's comments are appropriate. TQM is a misnomer. It is perhaps a Western acronym for Kaizen.
Regards,
Kevin