A term coined (actually re-coined, for the word was used in the 1880s for a very different group of evolutionists) in the middle part of this century. Its purpose was to emphasize the distinctness of the modern synthesis of Darwinism and Mendelian genetics, achieved in the 1920s and 1930s, from Darwin's own view of evolution. I think the need for the 'neo' is fading, and Darwin's own approach to 'the economy of nature' now looks very modern.
