Sir Chris Hoy, Braveheart and Nessie up for new Forth bridge title

There’s no punchline – they have all been put forward as suggestions in the search to name the new Forth Replacement Crossing.

More than 3000 ideas have already been offered to the Name the Bridge campaign, launched last month, inviting submissions from members of the public.

And while some of the region’s greatest figures, such as Sir Sean Connery, Muriel Spark and Sir Chris Hoy have been suggested as being worthy of having the crossing named in their honour, other more unlikely names have also been put forward.

Proposals include The Lorraine Kelly Bridge, Catherine Middleton Bridge, Sherlock Holmes Bridge, Chuck Norris Bridge, The Jim Leishman Bridge and Harry Potter Bridge.

Other creative ideas include Love Bridge, Bagpipe Bridge, Haggis Highway, Neeps and Tatties Bridge, Forth Bridge The Younger, the Irn-Bru Bridge (made in Scotland from Girders), The Salt ‘n’ Sauce Bridge, the Paw Broon Crossing and Rab C Nesbridge.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said that all of the proposed names would be considered by an advisory panel.

He said: “There have, of course, been countless globally renowned Scots and it is interesting to see the suggested names and comments put forward by the public in favour of these noteworthy figures past and present.

“It is great to hear that people would like to honour our most famous sons and daughters by naming the new Forth crossing after them. The advisory panel will consider them and all other suggestions.”

Nominations will remain open until January 31, when a shortlist of suggestions will be drafted. The list will then be put to a public vote.

This week it was announced that schools were to be invited to contribute to the search to find a name for the crossing.

The school which nominates or comments on the winning name will then be entered into a prize draw for the chance to attend the bridge opening ceremony in 2016 as VIP guests of Transport Scotland and to visit the construction site next year.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: “I’m keen that the Scottish public have their say on the name and, of course, that includes our young people.”

The first section forming the central foundation of the bridge was put in place last month. Around 1200 workers are involved in the building project.

Construction of the £790 million bridge has been described as Scotland’s largest infrastructure project in a generation.