Get value of a specific object property in C# without knowing the class behind

Use reflection

System.Reflection.PropertyInfo pi = item.GetType().GetProperty("name");
String name = (String)(pi.GetValue(item, null));

You can do it using dynamic instead of object:

dynamic item = AnyFunction(....);
string value = item.name;

Note that the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) has built-in caching mechanisms, so subsequent calls are very fast.

Reflection can help you.

var someObject;
var propertyName = "PropertyWhichValueYouWantToKnow";
var propertyName = someObject.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName).GetValue(someObject, null);