The project site area has been known by a number of formal and informal names, most recently being commonly known as "East Darling Harbour".

As a step to establishing an identity for this new precinct of Sydney, the NSW Government held a State-wide naming competition in 2006. Over 1,600 entries were submitted, illustrating the keen interest of Sydneysiders in this new major project.

The winning name, "Barangaroo", is in honour of an important indigenous woman from Sydney's early history who was a colourful and powerful figure in the story of the first colonisation of Australia.

Barangaroo was also the wife of Bennelong, after whom Bennelong Point - the site of the Sydney Opera House - is named. This means that the naming also completes an historical bookending between the eastern and western points of Sydney's CBD.

The name Barangaroo was gazetted in 2007.