 While Mr. Eko was created as a more passive character , the idea changed when the producers first saw Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje play the character . Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje explained : " once they saw me on the screen without a shirt , all 6 foot 2 and using a stick beating three guys up , they knew this guy wasn 't going to be just a passive priest " . Eventually , Cuse and Lindelof decided to combine their original idea for the character with Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje 's character on Oz . Originally , the character was named " Emeka " , and later " <unk> " , but after Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje was cast , the name was changed to " Eko " , in order to be consistent with Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje 's own Nigerian tribal lineage . Eko refers to the City of Legos ( Lagos ) in Nigeria , coming from <unk> , Lord of Lagos . Adding " Mr. " in front of the character 's name was also a suggestion made by Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje . While at first Cuse and Lindelof thought this was " the silliest thing in the world " , they changed their minds after repeating the name a few times , realizing there " was something really cool about it " . The character first appeared in " Adrift " , where he was only shown briefly , knocking down three of the show 's main characters with a stick . Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje was given the stick and told to " knock those three guys out " . Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje felt " there 's no better way to make an entrance " . The religious scripture on the stick was a suggestion of Akinnuoye @-@ Agbaje . 
