Neo comes from the Greek neos and means "new"; in the Tswana language of Botswana and South Africa it is an independent name meaning "gift". For most Americans the name belongs to Keanu Reeves's hero in The Matrix, and the 2021 sequel coincided with its arrival in the rankings. Neo entered the US top 1000 in 2021, peaked at number 949 in 2022 and ranks number 1066 in 2025.