diff --git a/data/model/organization.py b/data/model/organization.py
index 949e6766a..429d2566d 100644
--- a/data/model/organization.py
+++ b/data/model/organization.py
@@ -19,11 +19,8 @@ def create_organization(name, email, creating_user, email_required=True):
     team.add_user_to_team(creating_user, owners_team)
 
     return new_org
-  except InvalidUsernameException:
-    msg = ('Invalid organization name: %s Organization names must consist ' +
-           'solely of lower case letters, numbers, and underscores. ' +
-           '[a-z0-9_]') % name
-    raise InvalidOrganizationException(msg)
+  except InvalidUsernameException as iue:
+    raise InvalidOrganizationException(iue.message)
 
 
 def get_organization(name):
diff --git a/data/model/user.py b/data/model/user.py
index ffe5f2ec7..ddb27400d 100644
--- a/data/model/user.py
+++ b/data/model/user.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def create_user_noverify(username, email, email_required=True, prompts=tuple()):
 
   (username_valid, username_issue) = validate_username(username)
   if not username_valid:
-    raise InvalidUsernameException('Invalid username %s: %s' % (username, username_issue))
+    raise InvalidUsernameException('Invalid namespace %s: %s' % (username, username_issue))
 
   try:
     existing = User.get((User.username == username) | (User.email == email))
diff --git a/static/directives/signup-form.html b/static/directives/signup-form.html
index 44b38bfab..6430d2e16 100644
--- a/static/directives/signup-form.html
+++ b/static/directives/signup-form.html
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
         Usernames with dots or dashes are incompatible with Docker version 1.8 or older
       </div>
       <div class="co-alert co-alert-danger thin" ng-show="!signupForm.namespaceField.$error.required && signupForm.namespaceField.$invalid">
-        Usernames must be alphanumeric and be at least four characters in length
+        Usernames must be alphanumeric and between four and thirty characters in length
       </div>
     </div>
 
diff --git a/static/js/app.js b/static/js/app.js
index 2b4292136..fd163f262 100644
--- a/static/js/app.js
+++ b/static/js/app.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 var TEAM_PATTERN = '^[a-z][a-z0-9]+$';
 var ROBOT_PATTERN = '^[a-z][a-z0-9_]{3,29}$';
-var USERNAME_PATTERN = '^([a-z0-9]+(?:[._-][a-z0-9]+)*){4,30}$';
+var USERNAME_PATTERN = '^(?=.{4,30}$)([a-z0-9]+(?:[._-][a-z0-9]+)*)$';
 
 // Define the pages module.
 quayPages = angular.module('quayPages', [], function(){});
diff --git a/static/partials/new-organization.html b/static/partials/new-organization.html
index d77160201..359824673 100644
--- a/static/partials/new-organization.html
+++ b/static/partials/new-organization.html
@@ -48,10 +48,10 @@
                     Organization names with dots or dashes are incompatible with Docker version 1.8 or older
                   </span>
                   <span class="co-alert co-alert-danger thin" ng-show="!newOrgForm.namespaceField.$error.required && newOrgForm.namespaceField.$invalid">
-                    Organization names must be alphanumeric and be at least four characters in length
+                    Organization names must be alphanumeric, be at least four characters in length and max thirty characters in length
                   </span>
                 </div>
-                <span class="description">This will also be the namespace for your repositories. Must be alphanumeric, all lowercase and at least four characters long.</span>
+                <span class="description">This will also be the namespace for your repositories. Must be alphanumeric, all lowercase, at least four characters long and at most thirty characters long.</span>
               </div>
 
               <div class="form-group nested" quay-require="['MAILING']">
diff --git a/test/test_api_usage.py b/test/test_api_usage.py
index f56aa3e20..095ab9b3e 100644
--- a/test/test_api_usage.py
+++ b/test/test_api_usage.py
@@ -651,7 +651,7 @@ class TestCreateNewUser(ApiTestCase):
                                            email='test@example.com'),
                                  expected_code=400)
 
-    self.assertEquals('Invalid username a: Username must be between 4 and 30 characters in length',
+    self.assertEquals('Invalid namespace a: Namespace must be between 4 and 30 characters in length',
                       json['detail'])
 
   def test_trycreateregexmismatch(self):
@@ -661,7 +661,7 @@ class TestCreateNewUser(ApiTestCase):
                                            email='test@example.com'),
                                  expected_code=400)
 
-    self.assertEquals('Invalid username auserName: Username must match expression ^([a-z0-9]+(?:[._-][a-z0-9]+)*)$',
+    self.assertEquals('Invalid namespace auserName: Namespace must match expression ^([a-z0-9]+(?:[._-][a-z0-9]+)*)$',
                       json['detail'])
 
   def test_createuser(self):
diff --git a/util/validation.py b/util/validation.py
index fa878c185..9be53e43d 100644
--- a/util/validation.py
+++ b/util/validation.py
@@ -35,11 +35,11 @@ def validate_email(email_address):
 def validate_username(username):
   # Based off the restrictions defined in the Docker Registry API spec
   if not re.match(VALID_USERNAME_REGEX, username):
-    return (False, 'Username must match expression ' + VALID_USERNAME_REGEX)
+    return (False, 'Namespace must match expression ' + VALID_USERNAME_REGEX)
 
   length_match = (len(username) >= MIN_USERNAME_LENGTH and len(username) <= MAX_USERNAME_LENGTH)
   if not length_match:
-    return (False, 'Username must be between %s and %s characters in length' %
+    return (False, 'Namespace must be between %s and %s characters in length' %
             (MIN_USERNAME_LENGTH, MAX_USERNAME_LENGTH))
 
   return (True, '')