diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/base.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/base.rb
index f1b7c323dc..ff5a836b52 100755
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/base.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/base.rb
@@ -1404,14 +1404,14 @@ module ActiveRecord #:nodoc:
       end
 
       # Transform the modelname into a more humane format, using I18n.
-      # Defaults to the basic humanize method.
+      # By default, it will underscore then humanize the class name (BlogPost.human_name #=> "Blog post").
       # Default scope of the translation is activerecord.models
       # Specify +options+ with additional translating options.
       def human_name(options = {})
         defaults = self_and_descendants_from_active_record.map do |klass|
           :"#{klass.name.underscore}"
-        end 
-        defaults << self.name.humanize
+        end
+        defaults << self.name.underscore.humanize
         I18n.translate(defaults.shift, {:scope => [:activerecord, :models], :count => 1, :default => defaults}.merge(options))
       end
 
diff --git a/activerecord/test/cases/reflection_test.rb b/activerecord/test/cases/reflection_test.rb
index db64bbb806..d861b5bb24 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/cases/reflection_test.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/cases/reflection_test.rb
@@ -5,14 +5,20 @@ require 'models/company'
 require 'models/company_in_module'
 require 'models/subscriber'
 require 'models/pirate'
+require 'models/price_estimate'
 
 class ReflectionTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
-  fixtures :topics, :customers, :companies, :subscribers
+  fixtures :topics, :customers, :companies, :subscribers, :price_estimates
 
   def setup
     @first = Topic.find(1)
   end
 
+  def test_human_name
+    assert_equal "Price estimate", PriceEstimate.human_name
+    assert_equal "Subscriber", Subscriber.human_name
+  end
+
   def test_column_null_not_null
     subscriber = Subscriber.find(:first)
     assert subscriber.column_for_attribute("name").null