diff --git a/block/iscsi.c b/block/iscsi.c
index fd954d4c1f..219f927823 100644
--- a/block/iscsi.c
+++ b/block/iscsi.c
@@ -896,6 +896,7 @@ static char *parse_initiator_name(const char *target)
     QemuOptsList *list;
     QemuOpts *opts;
     const char *name = NULL;
+    const char *iscsi_name = qemu_get_vm_name();
 
     list = qemu_find_opts("iscsi");
     if (list) {
@@ -911,7 +912,9 @@ static char *parse_initiator_name(const char *target)
     if (name) {
         return g_strdup(name);
     } else {
-        return g_strdup("iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm");
+        return g_strdup_printf("iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm%s%s",
+                               iscsi_name ? ":" : "",
+                               iscsi_name ? iscsi_name : "");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/qemu-common.h b/qemu-common.h
index f16079f432..f9deca6f86 100644
--- a/qemu-common.h
+++ b/qemu-common.h
@@ -376,6 +376,7 @@ bool buffer_is_zero(const void *buf, size_t len);
 void qemu_progress_init(int enabled, float min_skip);
 void qemu_progress_end(void);
 void qemu_progress_print(float delta, int max);
+const char *qemu_get_vm_name(void);
 
 #define QEMU_FILE_TYPE_BIOS   0
 #define QEMU_FILE_TYPE_KEYMAP 1
diff --git a/qemu-doc.texi b/qemu-doc.texi
index f32e9e2fb9..35cabbcb9e 100644
--- a/qemu-doc.texi
+++ b/qemu-doc.texi
@@ -734,6 +734,11 @@ Various session related parameters can be set via special options, either
 in a configuration file provided via '-readconfig' or directly on the
 command line.
 
+If the initiator-name is not specified qemu will use a default name
+of 'iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm[:<name>'] where <name> is the name of the
+virtual machine.
+
+
 @example
 Setting a specific initiator name to use when logging in to the target
 -iscsi initiator-name=iqn.qemu.test:my-initiator
diff --git a/qemu-options.hx b/qemu-options.hx
index 5e7d0dc035..47cb5bd311 100644
--- a/qemu-options.hx
+++ b/qemu-options.hx
@@ -1897,6 +1897,11 @@ images for the guest storage. Both disk and cdrom images are supported.
 Syntax for specifying iSCSI LUNs is
 ``iscsi://<target-ip>[:<port>]/<target-iqn>/<lun>''
 
+By default qemu will use the iSCSI initiator-name
+'iqn.2008-11.org.linux-kvm[:<name>]' but this can also be set from the command
+line or a configuration file.
+
+
 Example (without authentication):
 @example
 qemu-system-i386 -iscsi initiator-name=iqn.2001-04.com.example:my-initiator \
@@ -1926,6 +1931,9 @@ DEF("iscsi", HAS_ARG, QEMU_OPTION_iscsi,
     "                iSCSI session parameters\n", QEMU_ARCH_ALL)
 STEXI
 
+iSCSI parameters such as username and password can also be specified via
+a configuration file. See qemu-doc for more information and examples.
+
 @item NBD
 QEMU supports NBD (Network Block Devices) both using TCP protocol as well
 as Unix Domain Sockets.
diff --git a/qemu-tool.c b/qemu-tool.c
index 318c5fcbca..64b5e88bc7 100644
--- a/qemu-tool.c
+++ b/qemu-tool.c
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ struct QEMUBH
     void *opaque;
 };
 
+const char *qemu_get_vm_name(void)
+{
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 Monitor *cur_mon;
 
 int monitor_cur_is_qmp(void)
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index e71cb30ecf..065aec290e 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -293,6 +293,11 @@ static struct {
     { .driver = "qxl-vga",              .flag = &default_vga       },
 };
 
+const char *qemu_get_vm_name(void)
+{
+    return qemu_name;
+}
+
 static void res_free(void)
 {
     if (boot_splash_filedata != NULL) {