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We learn that Neo (aka Thomas A. Anderson; aka Missster Anderson) is the 6th incarnation of "The One". Since The Matrix is a complex simulation of the real life, let's assume that each individual/entity is identified by their name, so that The Matrix can keep track of everyone. Now, Neo is an anagram of "One" which our friend has as a hacker name (which could also essentially be a nickname).

Have the previous 5 "Ones" also gave themselves the nickname Neo or was it just a happy coincidence that the 6th incarnation we see was called that?

user35594
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    Except for the fact that Neo is anagram for One I don't see any reason why they should be called so. – yondaime008 Jan 30 '15 at 21:10
  • @yondaime008 - Yes. I fail to see why they would be called Neo in-universe when the sole connection is out-of-universe. – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 21:16
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    @Richard: Why do you say the only connection between Neo and One is out-of-universe? It seems pretty in universe to me. – ThePopMachine Jan 30 '15 at 21:27
  • "Have the previous 5 "Ones" also gave themselves the nickname Neo.." If they did, that would have narrowed down the search by Morpheus.. – Andrew Thompson Jan 30 '15 at 21:27
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    @AndrewThompson It would have, if he had known about the previous five. He only knew about one, and that was mostly by legend. – KSmarts Jan 30 '15 at 21:29
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    Morpheus aside, the council of zion would have recognized neo face and name, if he used it before, as they were chosen by him to lead the next cycle. They did not. –  Jan 30 '15 at 21:33
  • Because the only connection made by anyone is outside the movie. No-one in the movie says "hey, you're the one and your name is neo, spooky." – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 21:33
  • @cde - The present incarnation of zion was over a hundred years old. None of the council would have ever met the previous One. Depending on their access to recording technology, they might not even have a visual record of him. – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 21:34
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    And if the previous Ones were complicit in the plan to destroy and re-build Zion, they likely would have lied about their names and histories to perpetuate the fiction about this being the "first" Zion. – Nerrolken Jan 30 '15 at 21:35
  • @Nerrolken - An interesting discussion but not one that's appropriate to this format. I've downvoted. I see no in-universe reason why there's any connection. – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 21:36
  • @Richard I thought it was a single generation or two. –  Jan 30 '15 at 21:38
  • @cde - My understanding is that it's been a considerable time. "I remember that for one-hundred years they have sent their armies to destroy us and after a century of war I remember that which matters most!" - Morpheus' speech to Zion. – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 21:38
  • @Richard war general rhetoric. He doesn't know about the cycles, and considers the current events as part of the war that started before the matrix. That, or he's saying he's a century old. He must moisturize. –  Jan 30 '15 at 22:07
  • Precisely. In the Matrix comic Miller's Tale, we see young Morpheus learning the legend of Geoffrey, the titular miller and "one of the earliest liberated from the matrix". That tallies nicely with the suggestion that Zion is approx 100 years old. – Valorum Jan 30 '15 at 22:13
  • I thought I read somewhere that Seraph was either an earlier "One" or he had been a hopeful much like the children waiting to see the Oracle (the "there is no spoon" boy and the others) I could be misremembering that though. – Monty129 Jan 31 '15 at 03:58

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We have no idea. The only real description of previous iterations of The One we have come from the Architect, and he only refers to them as Neo's "predecessors".

However, my gut says that it's unlikely they were all called Neo. One of they key elements of the Matrix was the idea that everyone hooked into it had some degree of free will, the option to make their own choices. I would assume this applies to the small things, like their choice of aliases. And, obviously, Neo picked that nickname before he had any clue he was special, and no one in the movie ever makes a connection between the name and it's anagram.

So, in-universe, it was likely just another cool hacker alias.

KutuluMike
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