diff --git a/maven-release-manager/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicy.java b/maven-release-manager/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicy.java
index c76fc6bc6..d7e071a67 100644
--- a/maven-release-manager/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicy.java
+++ b/maven-release-manager/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicy.java
@@ -41,6 +41,6 @@ public class DefaultNamingPolicy implements NamingPolicy
     public NamingPolicyResult getName( NamingPolicyRequest request )
             throws PolicyException
     {
-        return new NamingPolicyResult().setName( request.getArtifactId() + "-" + request.getVersion() );
+        return new NamingPolicyResult().setName( request.getVersion() );
     }
 }
diff --git a/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/phase/InputVariablesPhaseTest.java b/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/phase/InputVariablesPhaseTest.java
index e4f093843..5c6b2e72f 100644
--- a/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/phase/InputVariablesPhaseTest.java
+++ b/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/phase/InputVariablesPhaseTest.java
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ public void testInputVariablesInteractive()
     {
         // prepare
         Prompter mockPrompter = mock( Prompter.class );
-        when( mockPrompter.prompt( isA( String.class ), eq( "artifactId-1.0" ) ) ).thenReturn( "tag-value",
-                                                                                               "simulated-tag-value" );
+        when( mockPrompter.prompt( isA( String.class ), eq( "1.0" ) ) ).thenReturn( "tag-value",
+                                                                                    "simulated-tag-value" );
         phase = new InputVariablesPhase( mockPrompter, scmRepositoryConfigurator, namingPolicies );
 
         List<MavenProject> reactorProjects = Collections.singletonList( createProject( "artifactId", "1.0" ) );
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ public void testInputVariablesInteractive()
         // verify
         assertEquals( "Check tag", "simulated-tag-value", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
-        verify( mockPrompter, times( 2 ) ).prompt( isA( String.class ), eq( "artifactId-1.0" ) );
+        verify( mockPrompter, times( 2 ) ).prompt( isA( String.class ), eq( "1.0" ) );
         verifyNoMoreInteractions( mockPrompter );
     }
 
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ public void testInputVariablesNonInteractive()
         phase.execute( ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ), new DefaultReleaseEnvironment(), reactorProjects );
 
         // verify
-        assertEquals( "Check tag", "artifactId-1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
+        assertEquals( "Check tag", "1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
         // prepare
         builder = new ReleaseDescriptorBuilder();
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ public void testInputVariablesNonInteractive()
         phase.simulate( ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ), new DefaultReleaseEnvironment(), reactorProjects );
 
         // verify
-        assertEquals( "Check tag", "artifactId-1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
+        assertEquals( "Check tag", "1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
         // never use prompter
         verifyNoMoreInteractions( mockPrompter );
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ public void testSvnTag()
         phase.execute( ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ), new DefaultReleaseEnvironment(), reactorProjects );
 
         // verify
-        assertEquals( "Check tag", "artifactId-1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
+        assertEquals( "Check tag", "1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
         // prepare
         builder = new ReleaseDescriptorBuilder();
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ public void testSvnTag()
         phase.simulate( ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ), new DefaultReleaseEnvironment(), reactorProjects );
 
         // verify
-        assertEquals( "Check tag", "artifactId-1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
+        assertEquals( "Check tag", "1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
         // never use prompter
         verifyNoMoreInteractions( mockPrompter );
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ public void testCustomTagFormat()
         phase.execute( ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ), new DefaultReleaseEnvironment(), reactorProjects );
 
         // verify
-        assertEquals( "Check tag", "artifactId-1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
+        assertEquals( "Check tag", "1.0", ReleaseUtils.buildReleaseDescriptor( builder ).getScmReleaseLabel() );
 
         // prepare
         builder = new ReleaseDescriptorBuilder();
diff --git a/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicyTest.java b/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicyTest.java
index 6c2764b22..c389e1e82 100644
--- a/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicyTest.java
+++ b/maven-release-manager/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/shared/release/policies/DefaultNamingPolicyTest.java
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ public class DefaultNamingPolicyTest
     @Test
     public void testName() throws Exception
     {
-        assertEquals( "ARTIFACTID-VERSION",
+        assertEquals( "VERSION",
                       policy.getName( newNamingPolicyRequest( "ARTIFACTID", "VERSION" ) ).getName() );
-        assertEquals( "ARTIFACTID-1.0-SNAPSHOT",
+        assertEquals( "1.0-SNAPSHOT",
                       policy.getName( newNamingPolicyRequest( "ARTIFACTID", "1.0-SNAPSHOT" ) ).getName() );
     }
 
diff --git a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/MRELEASE-128/verify.groovy b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/MRELEASE-128/verify.groovy
index 8502268ec..652ed724e 100644
--- a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/MRELEASE-128/verify.groovy
+++ b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/MRELEASE-128/verify.groovy
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ assert 1 == pomXml.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.h
 
 File pomXmlTag = new File( basedir, 'pom.xml.tag' )
 assert pomXmlTag.exists()
-assert 1 == pomXmlTag.getText().count("<connection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/tags/mrelease-128-1.0</connection>")
-assert 1 == pomXmlTag.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/tags/mrelease-128-1.0</developerConnection>")
+assert 1 == pomXmlTag.getText().count("<connection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/tags/1.0</connection>")
+assert 1 == pomXmlTag.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/tags/1.0</developerConnection>")
 
 File pomXmlNext = new File( basedir, 'pom.xml.next' )
 assert pomXmlNext.exists()
@@ -36,4 +36,4 @@ assert 1 == pomXmlNext.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${s
 File pomXmlReleaseBackup = new File( basedir, 'pom.xml.releaseBackup' )
 assert pomXmlReleaseBackup.exists()
 assert 1 == pomXmlReleaseBackup.getText().count("<connection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/trunk/</connection>")
-assert 1 == pomXmlReleaseBackup.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/trunk/</developerConnection>")
\ No newline at end of file
+assert 1 == pomXmlReleaseBackup.getText().count("<developerConnection>scm:svn:http://\${scm.host}/svn/\${project.artifactId}/trunk/</developerConnection>")
diff --git a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/flat-multi-module/parent-project/pom.xml b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/flat-multi-module/parent-project/pom.xml
index 8c27df667..b9f8162ff 100644
--- a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/flat-multi-module/parent-project/pom.xml
+++ b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/flat-multi-module/parent-project/pom.xml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
   <name>parent-project</name>
   <url>http://maven.apache.org</url>
   <scm>
-    <connection>scm:svn:file://localhost/${project.file.parentFile.parentFile}/target/svnroot/flat-multi-module/trunk/parent-project</connection>    
+    <connection>scm:svn:file://localhost/${project.file.parentFile.parentFile}/target/svnroot/flat-multi-module/trunk/parent-project</connection>
     <developerConnection>scm:svn:file://localhost/${project.file.parentFile.parentFile}/target/svnroot/flat-multi-module/trunk/parent-project</developerConnection>
   </scm>
 
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@
           <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
           <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>@project.version@</version>
+          <configuration>
+            <tagNameFormat>@{project.artifactId}-@{project.version}</tagNameFormat>
+          </configuration>
         </plugin>
       </plugins>
     </pluginManagement>
diff --git a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/regular-multi-module/verify.groovy b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/regular-multi-module/verify.groovy
index a4ae4f75a..0e071b632 100644
--- a/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/regular-multi-module/verify.groovy
+++ b/maven-release-plugin/src/it/projects/prepare/regular-multi-module/verify.groovy
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ try
     String contents = data.toString();
 
     String expected1 = "Full run would tag working copy '" + basedir + "'";
-    String expected2 = "  with label 'regular-multi-module-project-1.0'";
+    String expected2 = "  with label '1.0'";
 
     if( contents.indexOf( expected1 ) != -1 && contents.indexOf( expected2 ) != -1 )
     {
diff --git a/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/AbstractScmReleaseMojo.java b/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/AbstractScmReleaseMojo.java
index fcdda10b0..6d4ab7d5b 100644
--- a/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/AbstractScmReleaseMojo.java
+++ b/maven-release-plugin/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/plugins/release/AbstractScmReleaseMojo.java
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractScmReleaseMojo
      *
      * @since 2.2.0
      */
-    @Parameter( defaultValue = "@{project.artifactId}-@{project.version}", property = "tagNameFormat" )
+    @Parameter( defaultValue = "@{project.version}", property = "tagNameFormat" )
     private String tagNameFormat;
 
     /**
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractScmReleaseMojo
     private String workItem;
 
     /**
-     * Add a new or overwrite the default implementation per provider. 
+     * Add a new or overwrite the default implementation per provider.
      * The key is the scm prefix and the value is the role hint of the
      * {@link org.apache.maven.scm.provider.ScmProvider}.
      *
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ protected ReleaseDescriptorBuilder createReleaseDescriptor()
 
         descriptor.setPushChanges( pushChanges );
         descriptor.setWorkItem( workItem );
-        
+
         if ( project.getScm() != null )
         {
             if ( project.getScm().getDeveloperConnection() != null )
@@ -171,24 +171,24 @@ else if ( project.getScm().getConnection() != null )
                 descriptor.setScmSourceUrl( project.getScm().getConnection() );
             }
         }
-        
+
         // As long as Scm.getId() does not exist, read it as a property
         descriptor.setScmId( project.getProperties().getProperty( "project.scm.id" ) );
-        
+
         for ( MavenProject reactorProject : session.getProjects() )
         {
             if ( reactorProject.getScm() != null )
             {
                 String projectId =
                     ArtifactUtils.versionlessKey( reactorProject.getGroupId(), reactorProject.getArtifactId() );
-                
+
                 descriptor.addOriginalScmInfo( projectId, buildScm( reactorProject ) );
             }
         }
 
         return descriptor;
     }
-    
+
     /**
      * <p>buildScm.</p>
      *
diff --git a/maven-release-plugin/src/site/apt/examples/prepare-release.apt.vm b/maven-release-plugin/src/site/apt/examples/prepare-release.apt.vm
index 119283034..c5680f776 100644
--- a/maven-release-plugin/src/site/apt/examples/prepare-release.apt.vm
+++ b/maven-release-plugin/src/site/apt/examples/prepare-release.apt.vm
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ mvn release:prepare-with-pom
 
 * Overriding the default tag name format
 
-  By default, if you do not specify a tag name, a default tag name of <<<artifactId>>>-<<<version>>> will be
+  By default, if you do not specify a tag name, a default tag name of <<<version>>> will be
   suggested (and if running non-interactively used).
 
   You can specify the exact tag name to use from the command line by passing the <<<tag>>> property, but if you
@@ -141,4 +141,4 @@ mvn release:prepare-with-pom
 
     []
 
-  The <<<project.>>> prefix is optional and may be omitted.
\ No newline at end of file
+  The <<<project.>>> prefix is optional and may be omitted.