Neo

Where Neo comes from

Recent coinage from the prefix neo- (“new”). Popularized by a character in the science-fiction film The Matrix (1999), where it is explained as an anagram of "(the) One".
— Wiktionary's entry for Neo
  • Vowel-ended
Neo through the years
  1. 1960
    Neo Rauch born
    German painter, photojournalist, and university teacher
  2. 1990
    Neo Yau born
    Hong Kong actor
  3. 1990
    First appearance
    #8,117 among boys with 5 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  4. 1999
    Around this time: The Matrix
    Film, 1999 · Source
  5. 2022
    Peak, #947
    240 babies named Neo, the most in any year.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name originating as a coinage.
Namesakes
  • Neo Rauch · German painter, photojournalist, and university teacher, born 1960
  • Neo Yau · Hong Kong actor, born 1990
  • Neo Moroka · Motswana politician

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record. Events show what happened around then, not why parents chose the name.