diff --git a/libpod/options.go b/libpod/options.go
index 3ca80e96cc..14c21815f4 100644
--- a/libpod/options.go
+++ b/libpod/options.go
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	nameRegex = regexp.MustCompile("[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+")
+	nameRegex = regexp.MustCompile("^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_.-]*$")
 )
 
 // Runtime Creation Options