What is the name of the Animus subject in the original Assassin's Creed?

Desmond Miles is the Animus subject in the original Assassin's Creed.

Desmond is a modern-day descendant of several important Assassins. Abstergo Industries captures him and places him in the Animus, allowing its researchers to access memories inherited through his family line. The historical experiences he relives belong to Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.

The character provides the connective tissue between the contemporary plot and the medieval missions. Through Desmond, the player learns that Abstergo is linked to the Templars and that the Animus can reveal more than ordinary historical information.

Players sometimes confuse Desmond with William Miles, his father, or with Clay Kaczmarek, another Animus subject introduced later. Daniel Cross is also connected to the modern Assassin-Templar conflict, but he is not the original game's central test subject. Desmond remains the modern protagonist of the first several major games.