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Neo

#1,066 in 2025Boys' name

New

Neo has been given to 3,123 babies in the U.S. since 1990. In 2025 it ranked #1,066 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2022, with 240 recorded.

Babies named Neo, 2025

1 in 16,300

Neo over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010020030018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Neo: meaning, origin, and history

New

coinages

What Neo means

Neo means “new”, associated with neo-.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

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".

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Neo (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Neo is used in English and Swedish. Its origins include coinages.

Neo is a modern formation.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,117 boys were recorded with the name Neo between 1990 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 240 in 2022; its best national rank was #949 in 2022.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,101 in 2020 to #1,066 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,840 in 2015 to #1,066 in 2025.

In the United States, 6 girls were recorded with the name Neo between 2021 and 2021. Its highest annual count was 6 in 2021; its best national rank was #14,757 in 2021.

How common is Neo?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 16,300
204 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 8,370
0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,066
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,265 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Neo sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,265 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Neo. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Neos were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Neo was born before 2018 — so the typical Neo is around 7 today.

Median birth year
2018
About 7 years old
Biggest decade
2020s
42.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
95.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
3,117
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2020s — 42.1% of all recorded uses (1,313).

Is Neo rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−102
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+35
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+774
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
2.52×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
85.0%
Peak was 2022 (240)
Years since peak
3
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
22.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#949
2022

Where Neo is used

Across 2016–2025, Neo was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 5,263 boys, against 1 in 10,410 across all states with data. It was least common in Michigan (1 in 100,000).

119 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 5,263
  2. 2Minnesota1 in 7,143
  3. 3New York1 in 7,143
  4. 4Florida1 in 7,692
  5. 5Texas1 in 9,091
  6. 6Illinois1 in 10,000
  7. 7Maryland1 in 11,111
  8. 8New Jersey1 in 12,500

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Neo around the world

Where Neo ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2000–2025
    #735
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2003–2025
    #762
    in 2025
  • Northern Ireland
    2018–2024
    #404
    in 2024
  • Ireland
    2011–2023
    #770
    in 2023
  • France
    2000–2025
    #436
    in 2025
  • Norway
    1880–2025
    #370
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2000–2024
    #949
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2003–2013
    #276
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Neo

People whose public names include Neo, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Neo by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,066
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 35
Best rank ever
#949
2022
Peak year
2022
240 that year
First recorded
1990
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,117
Count in 2025
204

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#14,757
2021
Peak year
2021
6 that year
First recorded
2021
Last recorded
2021
All-time count
6
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Neo

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NeonIrineoNeomNeomiahTsuneoYoneoErineoAntoneoIreneoMuneo

Names with a curve like Neo

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Neo, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

JahmirSevenIsaelDamirSyncereDenimErosAymanMattiasKhaiGadielAspen

Sibling names for Neo

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Neo

Top names of 2022, Neo's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2022Boys' names starting with N