diff --git a/src/cmd/new.rs b/src/cmd/new.rs
index f294e3cf30f4466fc2607d13b4574365bdc5f5ca..5c23574b7ae43290e4e2587dc74add0707525851 100644
--- a/src/cmd/new.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/new.rs
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ pub(crate) fn execute<P>(name: &str, dir: Option<P>) -> Result<Option<String>>
 where
     P: AsRef<Path>,
 {
-    if name.contains('-') {
-        anyhow::bail!("Contract names cannot contain hyphens");
+    if !name.chars().all(|c| c.is_alphanumeric() || c == '_') {
+        anyhow::bail!("Contract names can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores");
     }
 
     let out_dir = dir
@@ -108,7 +108,20 @@ mod tests {
             assert!(result.is_err(), "Should fail");
             assert_eq!(
                 result.err().unwrap().to_string(),
-                "Contract names cannot contain hyphens"
+                "Contract names can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores"
+            );
+            Ok(())
+        })
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn rejects_name_with_period() {
+        with_tmp_dir(|path| {
+            let result = execute("../xxx", Some(path));
+            assert!(result.is_err(), "Should fail");
+            assert_eq!(
+                result.err().unwrap().to_string(),
+                "Contract names can only contain alphanumeric characters and underscores"
             );
             Ok(())
         })