diff --git a/lib/cocoapods-core/specification/linter.rb b/lib/cocoapods-core/specification/linter.rb
index 8fda63c7a..f892eaa23 100644
--- a/lib/cocoapods-core/specification/linter.rb
+++ b/lib/cocoapods-core/specification/linter.rb
@@ -209,6 +209,10 @@ def _validate_name(n)
           if spec.root.name =~ /\s/
             error 'The name of a spec should not contain whitespace.'
           end
+
+          if spec.root.name[0, 1] == '.'
+            error 'The name of a spec should not being with a period.'
+          end
         end
       end