diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/i18n/base.pot b/odoo/addons/base/i18n/base.pot
index 92884667f6d..d54274f4cc5 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/i18n/base.pot
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/i18n/base.pot
@@ -7370,6 +7370,12 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Field `%(field_name)s` does not exist"
 msgstr ""
 
+#. module: base
+#: code:addons/base/ir/ir_model.py:298
+#, python-format
+msgid "Field names can only contain characters, digits and underscores (up to 63)."
+msgstr ""
+
 #. module: base
 #: model:ir.actions.act_window,name:base.action_model_fields
 #: model:ir.model,name:base.model_ir_model_fields
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py b/odoo/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
index 3b2d33e6121..95a02198885 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/ir/ir_model.py
@@ -286,6 +286,17 @@ class IrModelFields(models.Model):
             raise UserError(_("The Selection Options expression is not a valid Pythonic expression."
                               "Please provide an expression in the [('key','Label'), ...] format."))
 
+    @api.constrains('name', 'state')
+    def _check_name(self):
+        for field in self:
+            if field.state == 'manual' and not field.name.startswith('x_'):
+                raise ValidationError(_("Custom fields must have a name that starts with 'x_' !"))
+            try:
+                models.check_pg_name(field.name)
+            except ValidationError:
+                msg = _("Field names can only contain characters, digits and underscores (up to 63).")
+                raise ValidationError(msg)
+
     _sql_constraints = [
         ('size_gt_zero', 'CHECK (size>=0)', 'Size of the field cannot be negative.'),
     ]
@@ -492,9 +503,6 @@ class IrModelFields(models.Model):
         res = super(IrModelFields, self).create(vals)
 
         if vals.get('state', 'manual') == 'manual':
-            if not vals['name'].startswith('x_'):
-                raise UserError(_("Custom fields must have a name that starts with 'x_' !"))
-
             if vals.get('relation') and not self.env['ir.model'].search([('model', '=', vals['relation'])]):
                 raise UserError(_("Model %s does not exist!") % vals['relation'])
 
@@ -559,10 +567,6 @@ class IrModelFields(models.Model):
                         raise UserError(_('Can only rename one field at a time!'))
                     if vals['name'] in obj._fields:
                         raise UserError(_('Cannot rename field to %s, because that field already exists!') % vals['name'])
-                    if vals.get('state', 'manual') == 'manual' and not vals['name'].startswith('x_'):
-                        raise UserError(_('New field name must still start with x_ , because it is a custom field!'))
-                    if '\'' in vals['name'] or '"' in vals['name'] or ';' in vals['name']:
-                        raise ValueError('Invalid character in column name')
                     column_rename = (obj._table, item.name, vals['name'], item.index)
 
                 # We don't check the 'state', because it might come from the context
diff --git a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_ir_actions.py b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_ir_actions.py
index 00e57ac6ae0..a379181e657 100644
--- a/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_ir_actions.py
+++ b/odoo/addons/base/tests/test_ir_actions.py
@@ -368,3 +368,58 @@ class TestServerActions(TestServerActionsBase):
             self.action.write({
                 'child_ids': [(6, 0, [self.action.id])]
             })
+
+
+class TestCustomFields(common.TransactionCase):
+    MODEL = 'res.partner'
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        # use a test cursor instead of a real cursor
+        registry = odoo.registry()
+        registry.enter_test_mode()
+        fnames = set(registry[self.MODEL]._fields)
+
+        @self.addCleanup
+        def callback():
+            registry.leave_test_mode()
+            # the tests may have modified the registry, reset it
+            with registry.cursor() as cr:
+                registry.clear_manual_fields()
+                registry.setup_models(cr)
+                assert set(registry[self.MODEL]._fields) == fnames
+
+        super(TestCustomFields, self).setUp()
+
+    def create_field(self, name):
+        """ create a custom field and return it """
+        model = self.env['ir.model'].search([('model', '=', self.MODEL)])
+        field = self.env['ir.model.fields'].create({
+            'model_id': model.id,
+            'name': name,
+            'field_description': name,
+            'ttype': 'char',
+        })
+        self.assertIn(name, self.env[self.MODEL]._fields)
+        return field
+
+    def test_create_custom(self):
+        """ custom field names must be start with 'x_' """
+        with self.assertRaises(ValidationError):
+            self.create_field('foo')
+
+    def test_rename_custom(self):
+        """ custom field names must be start with 'x_' """
+        field = self.create_field('x_foo')
+        with self.assertRaises(ValidationError):
+            field.name = 'foo'
+
+    def test_create_valid(self):
+        """ field names must be valid pg identifiers """
+        with self.assertRaises(ValidationError):
+            self.create_field('x_foo bar')
+
+    def test_rename_valid(self):
+        """ field names must be valid pg identifiers """
+        field = self.create_field('x_foo')
+        with self.assertRaises(ValidationError):
+            field.name = 'x_foo bar'