Where Do Gnomes Come From?

Today I looked at my little gnome and wondered where he came from? Where was his home? Does he have family there? Do they miss him? I knew Mr. Gnome could not answer me directly so I decided to use the best tool available for inquiring answers to odd questions, Google! Well first I found out while searching that gnomes live underground and prefer fertile ground. Hence why they are commonly found in gardens. Their name comes from "genomos" which is Latin for "earth-dweller." The first known gnomes were found in the work of a Swiss man named Paracelsus sometime in the 16th century. He used gnomes as another word for pygmies which are another mythical creature that represents the four elements. So in all technicalities I suppose gnomes are from Switzerland. But since there is no definite answer as to where gnomes are from, I'm just going to say gnomes are from the imagination; because that is where everything usual and mystical begins.