diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
index ebeb1fbcea..bb9de0d044 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types: {1}
+        /// The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types:{1}{2}
         /// </summary>
         internal static string ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch
         {
@@ -259,11 +259,11 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types: {1}
+        /// The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types:{1}{2}
         /// </summary>
-        internal static string FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch(object p0, object p1)
+        internal static string FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch(object p0, object p1, object p2)
         {
-            return string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, GetString("ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch"), p0, p1);
+            return string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, GetString("ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch"), p0, p1, p2);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -1530,6 +1530,22 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core
             return string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, GetString("FileResult_InvalidPath"), p0);
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Type: '{0}' - Name: '{1}'
+        /// </summary>
+        internal static string ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item
+        {
+            get { return GetString("ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item"); }
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Type: '{0}' - Name: '{1}'
+        /// </summary>
+        internal static string FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item(object p0, object p1)
+        {
+            return string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, GetString("ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item"), p0, p1);
+        }
+
         private static string GetString(string name, params string[] formatterNames)
         {
             var value = _resourceManager.GetString(name);
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Resources.resx b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Resources.resx
index 9f9b9be8e3..4714a8d58e 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Resources.resx
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/Resources.resx
@@ -163,7 +163,8 @@
     <value>The class ReflectedActionFilterEndPoint only supports ReflectedActionDescriptors.</value>
   </data>
   <data name="ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch" xml:space="preserve">
-    <value>The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types: {1}</value>
+    <value>The view component name '{0}' matched multiple types:{1}{2}</value>
+    <comment>{1} is the newline character</comment>
   </data>
   <data name="ViewComponent_AsyncMethod_ShouldReturnTask" xml:space="preserve">
     <value>The async view component method '{0}' should be declared to return Task&lt;T&gt;.</value>
@@ -413,4 +414,7 @@
     <value>Could not find file: {0}</value>
     <comment>{0} is the value for the provided path</comment>
   </data>
+  <data name="ViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item" xml:space="preserve">
+    <value>Type: '{0}' - Name: '{1}'</value>
+  </data>
 </root>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelector.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelector.cs
index 87338f5bec..c19c868d2d 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelector.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelector.cs
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
 
 using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Diagnostics.Contracts;
 using System.Linq;
+using System.Reflection;
 using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core;
 
 namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc
@@ -21,30 +24,84 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc
             var assemblies = _assemblyProvider.CandidateAssemblies;
             var types = assemblies.SelectMany(a => a.DefinedTypes);
 
-            var components =
+            var candidates =
                 types
-                .Where(ViewComponentConventions.IsComponent)
-                .Select(c => new { Name = ViewComponentConventions.GetComponentName(c), Type = c.AsType() });
+                .Where(t => IsViewComponentType(t))
+                .Select(CreateCandidate);
 
-            var matching =
-                components
-                .Where(c => string.Equals(c.Name, componentName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
-                .ToArray();
+            // ViewComponent names can either be fully-qualified, or refer to the 'short-name'. If the provided
+            // name contains a '.' - then it's a fully-qualified name.
+            var matching = new List<ViewComponentCandidate>();
+            if (componentName.Contains("."))
+            {
+                matching.AddRange(candidates.Where(
+                    c => string.Equals(c.FullName, componentName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                matching.AddRange(candidates.Where(
+                    c => string.Equals(c.ShortName, componentName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)));
+            }
 
-            if (matching.Length == 0)
+            if (matching.Count == 0)
             {
                 return null;
             }
-            else if (matching.Length == 1)
+            else if (matching.Count == 1)
             {
                 return matching[0].Type;
             }
             else
             {
-                var typeNames = string.Join(Environment.NewLine, matching.Select(t => t.Type.FullName));
+                var matchedTypes = new List<string>();
+                foreach (var candidate in matching)
+                {
+                    matchedTypes.Add(Resources.FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch_Item(
+                        candidate.Type.FullName,
+                        candidate.FullName));
+                }
+
+                var typeNames = string.Join(Environment.NewLine, matchedTypes);
                 throw new InvalidOperationException(
-                    Resources.FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch(componentName, typeNames));
+                    Resources.FormatViewComponent_AmbiguousTypeMatch(componentName, Environment.NewLine, typeNames));
             }
         }
+
+        protected virtual bool IsViewComponentType([NotNull] TypeInfo typeInfo)
+        {
+            return ViewComponentConventions.IsComponent(typeInfo);
+        }
+
+        private static ViewComponentCandidate CreateCandidate(TypeInfo typeInfo)
+        {
+            var candidate = new ViewComponentCandidate()
+            {
+                FullName = ViewComponentConventions.GetComponentFullName(typeInfo),
+                ShortName = ViewComponentConventions.GetComponentName(typeInfo),
+                Type = typeInfo.AsType(),
+            };
+
+            Contract.Assert(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(candidate.FullName));
+            var separatorIndex = candidate.FullName.LastIndexOf(".");
+            if (separatorIndex >= 0)
+            {
+                candidate.ShortName = candidate.FullName.Substring(separatorIndex + 1);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                candidate.ShortName = candidate.FullName;
+            }
+
+            return candidate;
+        }
+
+        private class ViewComponentCandidate
+        {
+            public string FullName { get; set; }
+
+            public string ShortName { get; set; }
+
+            public Type Type { get; set; }
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/ViewComponentConventions.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/ViewComponentConventions.cs
index 1fa23c8cfe..bb913f0b00 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/ViewComponentConventions.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core/ViewComponents/ViewComponentConventions.cs
@@ -14,10 +14,44 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc
         {
             var attribute = componentType.GetCustomAttribute<ViewComponentAttribute>();
             if (attribute != null && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(attribute.Name))
+            {
+                var separatorIndex = attribute.Name.LastIndexOf('.');
+                if (separatorIndex >= 0)
+                {
+                    return attribute.Name.Substring(separatorIndex + 1);
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    return attribute.Name;
+                }
+            }
+
+            return GetShortNameByConvention(componentType);
+        }
+
+        public static string GetComponentFullName([NotNull] TypeInfo componentType)
+        {
+            var attribute = componentType.GetCustomAttribute<ViewComponentAttribute>();
+            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(attribute?.Name))
             {
                 return attribute.Name;
             }
 
+            // If the view component didn't define a name explicitly then use the namespace + the 
+            // 'short name'.
+            var shortName = GetShortNameByConvention(componentType);
+            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(componentType.Namespace))
+            {
+                return shortName;
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                return componentType.Namespace + "." + shortName;
+            }
+        }
+
+        private static string GetShortNameByConvention(TypeInfo componentType)
+        {
             if (componentType.Name.EndsWith(ViewComponentSuffix, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 return componentType.Name.Substring(0, componentType.Name.Length - ViewComponentSuffix.Length);
diff --git a/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core.Test/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest.cs b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core.Test/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7a37abf641
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Core.Test/ViewComponents/DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+using System;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Reflection;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc
+{
+    public class DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest
+    {
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByShortNameWithSuffix()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("Suffix");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(SuffixViewComponent), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByLongNameWithSuffix()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.Suffix");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(SuffixViewComponent), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByShortNameWithoutSuffix()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("WithoutSuffix");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(WithoutSuffix), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByLongNameWithoutSuffix()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.WithoutSuffix");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(WithoutSuffix), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByAttribute()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("ByAttribute");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(ByAttribute), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_ByNamingConvention()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("ByNamingConvention");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(ByNamingConventionViewComponent), result);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_Ambiguity()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            var expected = 
+                "The view component name 'Ambiguous' matched multiple types:" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "Type: 'Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest+Ambiguous1' - " +
+                "Name: 'Namespace1.Ambiguous'" + Environment.NewLine +
+                "Type: 'Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest+Ambiguous2' - " +
+                "Name: 'Namespace2.Ambiguous'";
+
+            // Act
+            var ex = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() => selector.SelectComponent("Ambiguous"));
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(expected, ex.Message);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public void SelectComponent_FullNameToAvoidAmbiguity()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent("Namespace1.Ambiguous");
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(Ambiguous1), result);
+        }
+
+        [Theory]
+        [InlineData("FullNameInAttribute")]
+        [InlineData("CoolNameSpace.FullNameInAttribute")]
+        public void SelectComponent_FullNameInAttribute(string name)
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var selector = CreateSelector();
+
+            // Act
+            var result = selector.SelectComponent(name);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(typeof(FullNameInAttribute), result);
+        }
+
+        private IViewComponentSelector CreateSelector()
+        {
+            return new FilteredViewComponentSelector();
+        }
+
+        private class SuffixViewComponent : ViewComponent
+        {
+        }
+
+        private class WithoutSuffix : ViewComponent
+        {
+        }
+
+        private class ByNamingConventionViewComponent
+        {
+        }
+
+        [ViewComponent]
+        private class ByAttribute
+        {
+        }
+
+        [ViewComponent(Name = "Namespace1.Ambiguous")]
+        private class Ambiguous1
+        {
+        }
+
+        [ViewComponent(Name = "Namespace2.Ambiguous")]
+        private class Ambiguous2
+        {
+        }
+
+        [ViewComponent(Name = "CoolNameSpace.FullNameInAttribute")]
+        private class FullNameInAttribute
+        {
+        }
+
+        // This will only consider types nested inside this class as ViewComponent classes
+        private class FilteredViewComponentSelector : DefaultViewComponentSelector
+        {
+            public FilteredViewComponentSelector()
+                : base(new StaticAssemblyProvider())
+            {
+                AllowedTypes = typeof(DefaultViewComponentSelectorTest).GetNestedTypes(BindingFlags.NonPublic);
+            }
+
+            public Type[] AllowedTypes { get; private set; }
+
+            protected override bool IsViewComponentType([NotNull] TypeInfo typeInfo)
+            {
+                return AllowedTypes.Contains(typeInfo.AsType());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.FunctionalTests/ViewComponentTests.cs b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.FunctionalTests/ViewComponentTests.cs
index dcd94a11fe..1080a64b02 100644
--- a/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.FunctionalTests/ViewComponentTests.cs
+++ b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.FunctionalTests/ViewComponentTests.cs
@@ -64,5 +64,35 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.FunctionalTests
             // Assert
             Assert.Equal("10", body.Trim());
         }
+
+        [Theory]
+        [InlineData("ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace1.SameName")]
+        [InlineData("ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace2.SameName")]
+        public async Task ViewComponents_FullName(string name)
+        {
+            var server = TestServer.Create(_provider, _app);
+            var client = server.CreateClient();
+
+            // Act
+            var body = await client.GetStringAsync("http://localhost/FullName/Invoke?name=" + name);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal(name, body.Trim());
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task ViewComponents_ShortNameUsedForViewLookup()
+        {
+            var server = TestServer.Create(_provider, _app);
+            var client = server.CreateClient();
+
+            var name = "ViewComponentWebSite.Integer";
+
+            // Act
+            var body = await client.GetStringAsync("http://localhost/FullName/Invoke?name=" + name);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.Equal("17", body.Trim());
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/FullNameController.cs b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/FullNameController.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b78173b624
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/FullNameController.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc;
+
+namespace ViewComponentWebSite
+{
+    public class FullNameController : Controller
+    {
+        public IActionResult Invoke(string name)
+        {
+            ViewBag.Name = name;
+            return View();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/IntegerViewComponent.cs b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/IntegerViewComponent.cs
index d44ffb4349..b08786884c 100644
--- a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/IntegerViewComponent.cs
+++ b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/IntegerViewComponent.cs
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ namespace ViewComponentWebSite
 {
     public class IntegerViewComponent : ViewComponent
     {
+        public IViewComponentResult Invoke()
+        {
+            return Invoke(17);
+        }
+
         public IViewComponentResult Invoke(int valueFromView)
         {
             return View(valueFromView);
diff --git a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace1/SameNameViewComponent.cs b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace1/SameNameViewComponent.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c044fa5981
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace1/SameNameViewComponent.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc;
+
+namespace ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace1
+{
+    // The full name is different here from the other view component with the same short name.
+    public class SameNameViewComponent : ViewComponent
+    {
+        public string Invoke()
+        {
+            return "ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace1.SameName";
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace2/SameNameViewComponent.cs b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace2/SameNameViewComponent.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1d40437390
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Namespace2/SameNameViewComponent.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+// Copyright (c) Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See License.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+using Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc;
+
+namespace ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace2
+{
+    // The full name is different here from the other view component with the same short name.
+    public class SameNameViewComponent : ViewComponent
+    {
+        public string Invoke()
+        {
+            return "ViewComponentWebSite.Namespace2.SameName";
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Views/FullName/Invoke.cshtml b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Views/FullName/Invoke.cshtml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f87bef07aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/WebSites/ViewComponentWebSite/Views/FullName/Invoke.cshtml
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+@Component.Invoke(ViewBag.Name)
\ No newline at end of file