diff --git a/neutron/agent/metadata/agent.py b/neutron/agent/metadata/agent.py
index 169cdda017c..707b31124a9 100644
--- a/neutron/agent/metadata/agent.py
+++ b/neutron/agent/metadata/agent.py
@@ -172,11 +172,11 @@ class MetadataProxyHandler(object):
             'X-Instance-ID-Signature': self._sign_instance_id(instance_id)
         }
 
-        nova_ip_port = '%s:%s' % (self.conf.nova_metadata_ip,
-                                  self.conf.nova_metadata_port)
+        nova_host_port = '%s:%s' % (self.conf.nova_metadata_host,
+                                    self.conf.nova_metadata_port)
         url = urlparse.urlunsplit((
             self.conf.nova_metadata_protocol,
-            nova_ip_port,
+            nova_host_port,
             req.path_info,
             req.query_string,
             ''))
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ class MetadataProxyHandler(object):
         if self.conf.nova_client_cert and self.conf.nova_client_priv_key:
             h.add_certificate(self.conf.nova_client_priv_key,
                               self.conf.nova_client_cert,
-                              nova_ip_port)
+                              nova_host_port)
         resp, content = h.request(url, method=req.method, headers=headers,
                                   body=req.body)
 
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ class UnixDomainMetadataProxy(object):
             'topic': 'N/A',
             'configurations': {
                 'metadata_proxy_socket': cfg.CONF.metadata_proxy_socket,
-                'nova_metadata_ip': cfg.CONF.nova_metadata_ip,
+                'nova_metadata_host': cfg.CONF.nova_metadata_host,
                 'nova_metadata_port': cfg.CONF.nova_metadata_port,
                 'log_agent_heartbeats': cfg.CONF.AGENT.log_agent_heartbeats,
             },
diff --git a/neutron/conf/agent/metadata/config.py b/neutron/conf/agent/metadata/config.py
index 5f521f4e7e0..d2f8962452e 100644
--- a/neutron/conf/agent/metadata/config.py
+++ b/neutron/conf/agent/metadata/config.py
@@ -58,8 +58,9 @@ METADATA_PROXY_HANDLER_OPTS = [
     cfg.StrOpt('auth_ca_cert',
                help=_("Certificate Authority public key (CA cert) "
                       "file for ssl")),
-    cfg.StrOpt('nova_metadata_ip', default='127.0.0.1',
-               help=_("IP address used by Nova metadata server.")),
+    cfg.StrOpt('nova_metadata_host', default='127.0.0.1',
+               deprecated_name='nova_metadata_ip',
+               help=_("IP address or DNS name of Nova metadata server.")),
     cfg.PortOpt('nova_metadata_port',
                 default=8775,
                 help=_("TCP Port used by Nova metadata server.")),
diff --git a/neutron/tests/unit/agent/metadata/test_agent.py b/neutron/tests/unit/agent/metadata/test_agent.py
index 7dcab866d85..591d56d7644 100644
--- a/neutron/tests/unit/agent/metadata/test_agent.py
+++ b/neutron/tests/unit/agent/metadata/test_agent.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class ConfFixture(config_fixture.Config):
         meta_conf.register_meta_conf_opts(
             meta_conf.METADATA_PROXY_HANDLER_OPTS, self.conf)
         self.config(auth_ca_cert=None,
-                    nova_metadata_ip='9.9.9.9',
+                    nova_metadata_host='9.9.9.9',
                     nova_metadata_port=8775,
                     metadata_proxy_shared_secret='secret',
                     nova_metadata_protocol='http',
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ class _TestMetadataProxyHandlerCacheMixin(object):
                     mock.call().add_certificate(
                         self.fake_conf.nova_client_priv_key,
                         self.fake_conf.nova_client_cert,
-                        "%s:%s" % (self.fake_conf.nova_metadata_ip,
+                        "%s:%s" % (self.fake_conf.nova_metadata_host,
                                    self.fake_conf.nova_metadata_port)
                     ),
                     mock.call().request(
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/rename-to-nova-metadata-ip-685fd81618c16d9d.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/rename-to-nova-metadata-ip-685fd81618c16d9d.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d0f6e484575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/rename-to-nova-metadata-ip-685fd81618c16d9d.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+deprecations:
+  - |
+    The ``nova_metadata_ip`` option is deprecated and will be removed in
+    Queens. It is deprecated in favor of the new ``nova_metadata_host`` option
+    because it reflects better that the option accepts an IP address and also
+    a DNS name.