What was Neo's real name in "The Matrix"?

Living a mundane life as a corporate programmer by day and a skilled hacker by night, Neo started his journey under a completely different identity in "The Matrix" before being recognized as the legendary one. But what was his name before discovering the truth about reality?

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The answer is: Thomas A. Anderson

Thomas A. Anderson lived a double life long before he became humanity's savior. By day, he was a programmer in a tiny cubicle at the respectable software company Metacortex. By night, he was a hacker known as Neo who sold illegal programs and desperately searched for answers about something called "the Matrix."

The name itself is supposed to enforce the film's themes of average people discovering their true potential. Here was this completely ordinary guy with the most common name imaginable (seriously, try finding a more generic name than Thomas Anderson) who turned out to be humanity's prophesied savior. Agent Smith loved rubbing in the whole "Mister Anderson" thing, practically turning it into his catchphrase throughout the trilogy.

"Anderson" literally means "son of man," a biblical reference to Jesus Christ that the Wachowskis added to allude to Neo's role as humanity's messiah. The "A" in Thomas A. Anderson was never officially revealed in the films, but some fans speculate the middle initial stands for "Anomaly" based on how Agent Smith refers to Neo's unique nature. The original script just had him listed as Thomas Anderson, and the middle initial was added during filming to give it that extra bureaucratic touch.