Sadler's Square? Pioneers Place? How about Cotton Common? (which, unfortunately, sounds like a cottaging hotspot)
Over time, the new square - which will open in October 2015 - will be surrounded by a mix of cafés, restaurants and bars
The shortlist of names for the new public realm within the Cooperative's £800m NOMA development has been announced after the public were invited to submit suggestions for the space between the CIS Tower, New Century House and the Hanover Building.
The Co-Operative Group received almost 700 entries, with an executive panel arriving at this final shortlist of seven:
Pioneer - Referring to the Rochdale Pioneers who laid the foundations for the modern Co-operative movement.
Cotton - As you well know, Manchester was the epicentre of the global cotton market throughout the nineteenth century.
Turing - A tribute to Alan Turing, the father of modern computing credited with cracking Nazi Germany's Enigma code, who took up a position at the University of Manchester in 1948 and died here in 1954.
Miller's - Referring to the nearby Miller Street (named after, well, mill workers) - which sits in the location of Manchester's notorious Angel Meadows, or 'Hell upon Earth' as Friedrich Engels referred to it in 1844.
Mayes - On his death in 1621 Edward Mayes left money to purchase land around the site of the new square to support the poor.
Sadler's - James Sadler was England's first ever hot balloonist and made the first ascent in Manchester from a recreation ground on what is now Balloon Street.
Makers - Erm... because people make things, presumably. Bit vague this one.
An expert panel will announce the winning name within the month.
The site of the new public realmThe Co-op's Director of NOMA, David Pringle, said: "NOMA is an area with a rich and vibrant heritage, and we wanted the people who live, work and enjoy themselves here to become a part of its future so we have been delighted with the response.
"There have been many examples of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding but this is crowdnaming.
"Each suggestion has its merits and so it will be very difficult to choose the winner, which will create a piece of Manchester history."
Over time, the new square - which will open in October 2015 - will be surrounded by a mix of cafés, restaurants and bars.
The new public square is part funded by The European Regional Development Fund and is being delivered in partnership with Manchester City Council.
Here's Confidential's Jonathan Schofield discussing the heritage of the NOMA area:
