diff --git a/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py b/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
index 00efa1e81c..ddeb67fd3b 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/cli/galaxy.py
@@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ class GalaxyCLI(CLI):
             self.parser.set_usage("usage: %prog import [options] github_user github_repo")
             self.parser.add_option('--no-wait', dest='wait', action='store_false', default=True, help='Don\'t wait for import results.')
             self.parser.add_option('--branch', dest='reference', help='The name of a branch to import. Defaults to the repository\'s default branch (usually master)')
+            self.parser.add_option('--role-name', dest='role_name', help='The name the role should have, if different than the repo name')
             self.parser.add_option('--status', dest='check_status', action='store_true', default=False, help='Check the status of the most recent import request for given github_user/github_repo.')
         elif self.action == "info":
             self.parser.set_usage("usage: %prog info [options] role_name[,version]")
@@ -567,7 +568,7 @@ class GalaxyCLI(CLI):
             task = self.api.get_import_task(github_user=github_user, github_repo=github_repo)
         else:
             # Submit an import request
-            task = self.api.create_import_task(github_user, github_repo, reference=self.options.reference)
+            task = self.api.create_import_task(github_user, github_repo, reference=self.options.reference, role_name=self.options.role_name)
 
             if len(task) > 1:
                 # found multiple roles associated with github_user/github_repo
diff --git a/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py b/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
index 64fb82575b..c3df49ddc0 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/galaxy/api.py
@@ -140,17 +140,21 @@ class GalaxyAPI(object):
         return data
 
     @g_connect
-    def create_import_task(self, github_user, github_repo, reference=None):
+    def create_import_task(self, github_user, github_repo, reference=None, role_name=None):
         """
         Post an import request
         """
         url = '%s/imports/' % self.baseurl
-        args = urlencode({
+        args = {
             "github_user": github_user,
             "github_repo": github_repo,
             "github_reference": reference if reference else ""
-        })
-        data = self.__call_galaxy(url, args=args)
+        }
+        if role_name:
+            args['alternate_role_name'] = role_name
+        elif github_repo.startswith('ansible-role'):
+            args['alternate_role_name'] = github_repo[len('ansible-role')+1:]
+        data = self.__call_galaxy(url, args=urlencode(args))
         if data.get('results', None):
             return data['results']
         return data