The Matrix character names

Several of the names in The Matrix series of movies and stories have additional meanings.

Certain programs which controlled the execution of the Matrix were not given names, but titles. (e.g. The Oracle, The Architect, The Keymaker).

Characters

• Neo - neo- as a prefix means "new": denoting he is the latest 'One' who can control the Matrix's future. Neo is also an anagram of one, reinforcing his Messianic status.

Thomas Anderson - Thomas can be considered a reference to the Gospel of Thomas, known in Gnosticism. Anderson means son of Andrew, and since Andrew is from the Greek for "man", this surname could be referring to one of Jesus' titles, "the Son of Man".

• Agent Smith - "Smith" is the most common surname in many English-speaking countries, reinforcing his generic, conformist appearance as an Agent (all of the Agents have non-descript names, and Morpheus comments "you all look the same to me"). in the sequels, Smith is a virus that takes over the identities of everyone plugged into the Matrix. In an early scene in The Matrix Reloaded, Smith drives a car with the license plate number "IS 5416"; in the King James Bible Isaiah 54:16 reads "Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy."

• Trinity references the reflection of the Holy Trinity with Morpheus as God the Father, Neo as the Messiah, and Trinity as the Holy Spirit, the feminine aspect of God. A second reference is to the the Trinity site, where the first atomic bomb exploded on July 16, 1945.

• Morpheus - Morpheus was the Ancient Greek god of dreams - appropriate since he first contacts Neo through a series of dream-like events and his aim is to "awaken" people from the dream-world of the Matrix.

• Cypher A Cipher is a a cryptographic system used for coding and decoding messages - Cypher's allegiances are coded and concealed. A cypher is also the mathematical symbol 0 denoting the absence of quantity - zero (to Neo's One). It is possible also a reduced form of Lucifer, a name for the Devil.

• Agents Jackson, Johnson, and Thompson - The "upgraded" Agents can be viewed as the "sons" of the original Agents.

• Apoc - Possibly a shortened form of "Apocalypse." The shooting script for "The Matrix" states that he wrote "The Four Horsemen" virus.

• Switch - A basic electrical/computational component.

• Mouse - A computer component. Also the name of a character in the Hugo Award nominated Science Fiction novel Nova (1969) by Samuel R Delany . Nova can be regarded as a proto-cyberpunk novel. In particular, its characters control a starship by "jacking in" to a virtual reality representation of the vessel and its environment.

• Tank A tank is a type of heavy vehicle. (Cf. the name of his brother, Dozer). Also a subtle reference to the "tanks" the humans are kept in at the power plant towers.

• Dozer - A bulldozer is another type of heavy vehicle. "Dozer", meaning "sleeper" could also be seen as conotating the "sleeping" state of those jacked into the Matrix.

• Link - May refer to both the computer term, such as hyperlink, and the fact that this character links the audience with the events of the films.

• Niobe - In Greek mythology, Niobe was a boastful queen whose seven children were killed by Apollo. In her grief, Niobe wept perpetually until the gods took pity on her and turned her into a rock.

• Ghost - Possibly a reference to Ghost in the Shell, a film that inspired the Wachowski brothers when creating The Matrix.

• Sparks - Possibly related to the term 'Spark of life' or referring to the commencement of an object (A spark can start a fire).

• Councillor Hamann - A reference to J. G. Hamann (Johann Georg Hamann), the philosopher.

• Councillor West - A reference to and played by Dr. Cornell West, the philosopher.

• Councillor Dillard - A reference to Annie Dillard, the author.

• Commander Lock - A reference to John Locke, the philosopher.

• Captain Soren - A reference to Søren Kierkegaard, the philosopher.

• Vector - This name has many meanings. In mathematical terms, "vector most often refers specifically to an object that has a special relationship to the spatial coordinates/directions." In computer programming terms, a vector is "the same as list or one-dimensional array." (these meanings could relate to one's presence in the Matrix as a package of code)

• Binary - Binary is the numerical system of ones and zeros used in computers.

• Captain Roland - (commands the Hammer) perhaps refers to the Frankish seneschal in Charlemagne's service, or maybe even the Roland SH-101 synthesizer. One may find some parallels to the story in The Matrix in The Song of Roland.

• Maggie - an abbreviation either for the name Margaret, or for the magazine of a firearm.

• Mauser - as in the German bolt-action firearm.

• AK - as in the firearm, AK-47.

• Colt - as in the firearm, produced by Colt's Manufacturing Company.

• Captain Ice - (commands the Gnosis) perhaps referencing the Internet Communications Engine , I.C.E.?

• Captain Ajax - (commands the Icarus) A reference to the Greek warrior in Homer's Iliad.

• Captain Thaddeus - (commands the Osiris, as seen in the Animatrix) - see Saint Jude.

• Bobby - (operator on the Osiris) perhaps referencing the Windows based software used for analyzing web pages for accesibility issues (as he would in fact be hacking the Matrix).

• Jue - (character in Animatrix, on the Osiris) perhaps Chinese character meaning "role." Or, a jue is a Chinese libation cup. Pronunciation of the word can also mean "win promotion" or "noble rank".

• Captain Ballard - A reference to J. G. Ballard, the British novelist and forerunner of the cyberpunk movement in literature which inspired The Matrix.

• Malachi - Meaning "My messenger/angel". Malachi was the last of the minor prophets and writter of the last book of the Old Testament.

• Bane - meaning "nemesis."

• Seraph - A "Seraph," is a member of the "Seraphim," the highest order of the heirarchy of angels in medieval christian theology (among other angelic designations from other faiths/belief systems. See Seraph wiki for more.). Appropriate as Seraph plays guardian angel to The Oracle.

• The Merovingian - [there is a connection to exiles and possibly a lingeage coming down from the child/children of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. -- mini stub] The Merovingian is also characterized fairly heavily as Hades -- Lord of the Underworld in Greek mythology. This comes from several different places in the story. First is his marriage to Persephone. In Greek mythology, Hades is married to Persephone. This, coupled with the "Club Hel" location seen in [[The Matrix Revolutions]], (Hel/Hell being analagous to the greek Underworld), and the fact that The Merovingian has in his employ The Trainman who is himself analagous to Charon, the ferryman on the river Styx. All of these components help point to The Merovingian as representative of Hades.

• Persephone - Greek mythology states she was taken to the underworld by Hades; she was the beautiful and lonely bride of a monster - Hades himself.

• The Trainman - characterized as Charon (mythology), the ferryman on the river Styx (mythology) from Greek mythology. The Trainman operated a tiny nexus where programs moved between the Matrix and the Machine world to escape deletion. The Merovingian used this place and gave orders to the Trainman, ostensibly, to smuggle in or out things or programs he wanted. The train station had a name, Mobil Ave. (Mobil is an anagram for limbo, which indicated that the train station existed neither in the Matrix or real world.) It was here that Neo found himself (specifically, his mind) after mysteriously disabling 5 sentinels in the real world just by thinking of it. The rules of the Matrix did not apply here, and so Neo was helpless to escape until Trinity forced the Merovingian to let Neo leave.

• The Twins - Two henchmen of The Merovingian. They fight with switchblades and typical weapons. Albino in appearance with dreadlocks as hair, they also can become wraiths with limited flight ability as well as the ability to move through solid objects. They persue Trinity and Morpheus as they escaped with the Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded. Morpheus was able to stop their pursuit by destroying the vehicle they owned, ostensibly killing them.

• The Oracle - The "mother" of the Matrix, as described by The Architect, the primary creator. The Oracle is an intuitive program designed to understand human psychology. It was the Oracle that determined that the Matrix inhabitants must be given choices on what they can do while living in the Matrix, even if that person is only vaguely aware of the existance of one. This modification allowed 99% of all humans imprisoned in the Matrix to accept what they saw and felt as true and real. The Oracle believed that humans and machines must learn to live peacefully, and is a central character in guiding Neo and his fellow Zionites in seeking a way to end the Machine/Man conflict. She is an analogue of the Delphic Oracle.

• The Keymaker - A program designed to create access points through practically any location in the Matrix. Imprisoned by the Merovingian in "Reloaded", he is freed by Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. He dies of gunshot wounds shortly after leading Neo to a door leading to the Source, the Machine mainframe computer where the Matrix code originates. Name likely is in contrast to Commander Lock , whose "deadbolt" manner of commanding the Zion army attempted to hinder Neo's journeys.

• The Architect - An architect is someone who designs buildings, the architect is assumed to have helped design the Matrix itself, but was unable to do so on his own. The first Matrix was a utopia that no human mind could accept. It took the programming power of the Oracle to create a Matrix that was acceptable to most humans imprisoned there. The Architect is a tragically logical being that is incapable of understanding choice or human emotions. His goal was to balance the Matrix's equations. In order to make a Matrix acceptable for human habitation, it took the work of the Oracle to unbalance the equations.

• Captain Mifune - In honor of Toshiro Mifune, an actor that played many Samurai in Japanese films, nost notably in Seven Samurai.

• Charra - (defender of Zion, woman with bazooka) Spanish for "cowgirl."

• Zee - Dutch for "Sea." May also be an abbrieviation of "zero"; also the American pronounciation of the last letter of the English language ("z").

• Sati - A reference to the Hindu figure.

• Rama Kandra - A reference to the Hindu figure, one of the avatars of Vishnu.

• Kamala - A reference to the courtesan-turned-disciple of the Buddha.

External link: Matrix Character Database [1] Some additional information from "Like a Splinter in Your Mind" [2]

Ships

• Logos - In pre-Socratic philosophy - the principle governing the cosmos, the source of this principle, or human reasoning about the cosmos. In Judaism, the word of God. In Christianity, the creative word of God, embodied as Jesus Christ. Neo and Trinity venture to the Machine City at the end of The Matrix Reloaded in this craft--in effect, the Word of the Matrix (Neo) is returning to the Source.

• Nebuchadnezzar - Babylonian king in the Bible who (as an agent of God) attacked Jerusalem. God did this because the people had become corrupt, turned from God, and even ignored the prophets God sent to warn them. Notably, the Bible records King Nebuchadnezzar having had a number of prophetic dreams - in the Matrix movies, the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar is Morpheus, the Greco-Roman god of dreams.

• Mjolnir (a.k.a. Hammer) - The name of Thor's hammer in Norse mythology. From this hammer, Thor could produce thunder (as the ship could emit an EMP - or electromagnetic pulse).

• Caduceus - (Commanded by Captain Ballard - Bane's ship) the staff of entwined serpents belonging to the Greek god Hermes. The caduceus had the power to induce sleep in men, or awaken them (following the theme of "waking up" common in The Matrix).

• Osiris - (Commanded by Captain Thaddeus) Featured in the Animatrix movie Final Flight of the Osiris. Osiris, from Egyptian mythology, the god of death and the Underworld. The common cycle of death and rebirth may be present in the sacrifice of this ship to warn the human city of Zion (which itself is continually destroyed and reborn).

• Vigilant - (Commanded by Captain Soren) From the OED: "Wakeful and watchful; keeping steadily on the alert; attentively or closely observant." (again, references to "waking up" or being awake)

• Gnosis - (Commanded by Captain Ice) Idea from Gnosticism of the awareness of the spiritual nature of the cosmos.

• Novalis - (Commanded by Captain Tirant) pseudonym of German poet and novelist, Friedrich Leopold. Wrote, "Sleep is a digest of sensial impressions. Dreams are excrements." (another reference to sleep and the need to "wake up")

• Brahma - (Commanded by Captain Kali) Hindu creator god. One part of the Trimurti. His four heads recite the Vedas (which translates into "Knowledge" or "Truth" - common themes in The Matrix).

• Icarus - (Commanded by Captain Ajax) in Greek mythology, the son of Daedalus, who with his father, escaped inprisonment on wings crafted of feathers and wax. Icarus ignored his father and flew too close to the sun, which melted the wax and caused him to crash into the ocean and die. "Icarus" is also a computer term for a program that crashes often (reference to the Matrix as a program, which they continually hack).

Locations

• Zion - Anointed city of God, used through various religions.

• Club Hel - Characterized as the Greek mythological Underworld, analogous to Hel/Hell in other belief systems. The Club is guarded by three identical bald men, denoting Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the underworld in Greek mythology. May also be a reference to Hel, the monstrous, half-rotten daughter of the Norse god Loki, and from whom Christianity gained it's name for the abode of the damned.

• Le Vrai Restaurant - "Le Vrai" loosely translated from the french means "the truth" or "the true."

• Mobil Ave. - Mobil is an anagram of Limbo.