Totem Pole Output Driver

This is the schematic of a TTL logic component (here an 7404 inverter), with the typical totem-pole output. The output consists of a push-pull driver with a resistor and a diode added. Like Russell says this is not the classic PNP-NPN complementary pair push-pull, but one where both transistors are NPN. Typical of the TTL totem-pole output is its asymmetrical drive capability: 16mA sink/-0.4mA source.

I guess the name comes from the stacking of components on top of each other, like the objects on a real totem-pole. I'm not an anthropologist.