diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 4cdf738..9a90bdb 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -134,6 +134,19 @@ The index:
 This eliminates the need to manually create indexes that match the ordering configuration.
 
 
+### Custom Index Names
+
+The auto-generated index name must not exceed 128 characters (SQL Server limit). If an entity name is too long, use `WithIndexName` to specify a custom index name:
+
+```cs
+builder.Entity<EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimit>()
+    .OrderBy(_ => _.Name)
+    .WithIndexName("IX_LongEntity_Order");
+```
+
+If the auto-generated name exceeds 128 characters, an `InvalidOperationException` is thrown with a message suggesting to use `WithIndexName()`.
+
+
 ## Require Ordering for All Entities
 
 Enable validation mode to ensure all entities have default ordering configured:
diff --git a/src/EfOrderBy/OrderByBuilder.cs b/src/EfOrderBy/OrderByBuilder.cs
index c5367f5..44e9105 100644
--- a/src/EfOrderBy/OrderByBuilder.cs
+++ b/src/EfOrderBy/OrderByBuilder.cs
@@ -6,8 +6,11 @@ namespace EfOrderBy;
 public sealed class OrderByBuilder<TEntity>
     where TEntity : class
 {
+    const int MaxIndexNameLength = 128;
+
     Configuration configuration;
     EntityTypeBuilder<TEntity> entityBuilder;
+    string? customIndexName;
 
     internal OrderByBuilder(EntityTypeBuilder<TEntity> builder, PropertyInfo propertyInfo, bool descending)
     {
@@ -43,12 +46,41 @@ public OrderByBuilder<TEntity> ThenByDescending<TProperty>(Expression<Func<TEnti
         return this;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Specifies a custom index name for the default ordering index.
+    /// Use this when the auto-generated index name would exceed the 128 character limit.
+    /// </summary>
+    public OrderByBuilder<TEntity> WithIndexName(string indexName)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(indexName))
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentException("Index name cannot be null or whitespace.", nameof(indexName));
+        }
+
+        if (indexName.Length > MaxIndexNameLength)
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentException($"Index name '{indexName}' exceeds maximum length of {MaxIndexNameLength} characters.", nameof(indexName));
+        }
+
+        customIndexName = indexName;
+        UpdateIndex();
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Creates or updates a composite index for all ordering properties.
     /// </summary>
     void UpdateIndex()
     {
-        var indexName = $"IX_{typeof(TEntity).Name}_DefaultOrder";
+        var indexName = customIndexName ?? $"IX_{typeof(TEntity).Name}_DefaultOrder";
+
+        if (indexName.Length > MaxIndexNameLength)
+        {
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                $"The auto-generated index name '{indexName}' exceeds the maximum length of {MaxIndexNameLength} characters. " +
+                $"Use .WithIndexName() to specify a shorter custom index name.");
+        }
+
         var entityType = entityBuilder.Metadata;
 
         // Remove existing index with this name (if any) before creating the updated one
diff --git a/src/Tests/IndexNameTests.cs b/src/Tests/IndexNameTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79b8f29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Tests/IndexNameTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
+[TestFixture]
+public class IndexNameTests
+{
+    static DbContextOptions CreateOptions() =>
+        new DbContextOptionsBuilder()
+            .UseSqlServer("Server=.;Database=Test;Trusted_Connection=True")
+            .UseDefaultOrderBy()
+            .Options;
+
+    [Test]
+    public void AutoGeneratedIndexName_WithinLimit_Succeeds()
+    {
+        // Should not throw - entity name is short
+        using var context = new ContextWithShortEntityName(CreateOptions());
+        _ = context.Model;
+
+        // Verify the index was created with auto-generated name
+        var entityType = context.Model.FindEntityType(typeof(ShortEntity))!;
+        var index = entityType.GetIndexes().FirstOrDefault();
+        Assert.That(index, Is.Not.Null);
+        Assert.That(index?.GetDatabaseName(), Is.EqualTo("IX_ShortEntity_DefaultOrder"));
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void AutoGeneratedIndexName_ExceedsLimit_ThrowsWithHelpfulMessage()
+    {
+        var exception = Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() =>
+        {
+            using var context = new ContextWithLongEntityName(CreateOptions());
+            _ = context.Model;
+        })!;
+
+        Assert.That(exception.Message, Does.Contain("exceeds the maximum length of 128"));
+        Assert.That(exception.Message, Does.Contain("WithIndexName()"));
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void CustomIndexName_WithinLimit_Succeeds()
+    {
+        // Should not throw
+        using var context = new ContextWithCustomIndexName(CreateOptions());
+        _ = context.Model;
+
+        // Verify the index was created with custom name
+        var entityType = context.Model.FindEntityType(typeof(EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimitIfWeDidNotUseCustomIndexNameHere))!;
+        var index = entityType.GetIndexes().FirstOrDefault();
+        Assert.That(index, Is.Not.Null);
+        Assert.That(index?.GetDatabaseName(), Is.EqualTo("IX_LongEntity_Order"));
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void CustomIndexName_ExceedsLimit_ThrowsArgumentException()
+    {
+        var exception = Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() =>
+        {
+            using var context = new ContextWithTooLongCustomIndexName(CreateOptions());
+            _ = context.Model;
+        })!;
+
+        Assert.That(exception.Message, Does.Contain("exceeds maximum length of 128"));
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void CustomIndexName_NullOrEmpty_ThrowsArgumentException()
+    {
+        var exception = Assert.Throws<ArgumentException>(() =>
+        {
+            using var context = new ContextWithEmptyCustomIndexName(CreateOptions());
+            _ = context.Model;
+        })!;
+
+        Assert.That(exception.Message, Does.Contain("cannot be null or whitespace"));
+    }
+
+    [Test]
+    public void WithIndexName_CanBeChainedWithThenBy()
+    {
+        // Should not throw
+        using var context = new ContextWithChainedIndexName(CreateOptions());
+        _ = context.Model;
+
+        // Verify the index was created with custom name and has all properties
+        var entityType = context.Model.FindEntityType(typeof(MultiPropertyEntity))!;
+        var index = entityType.GetIndexes().FirstOrDefault();
+        Assert.That(index, Is.Not.Null);
+        Assert.That(index?.GetDatabaseName(), Is.EqualTo("IX_Multi_Custom"));
+        Assert.That(index?.Properties.Select(p => p.Name), Is.EquivalentTo(new[] { "Category", "Priority" }));
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithShortEntityName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<ShortEntity> Entities => Set<ShortEntity>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<ShortEntity>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Name);
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithLongEntityName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<EntityWithAnExtremelyLongNameThatWillDefinitelyExceedTheMaximumIndexNameLengthOfOneHundredTwentyEightCharactersWhenCombinedWithThePrefix> Entities => Set<EntityWithAnExtremelyLongNameThatWillDefinitelyExceedTheMaximumIndexNameLengthOfOneHundredTwentyEightCharactersWhenCombinedWithThePrefix>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<EntityWithAnExtremelyLongNameThatWillDefinitelyExceedTheMaximumIndexNameLengthOfOneHundredTwentyEightCharactersWhenCombinedWithThePrefix>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Name);
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithCustomIndexName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimitIfWeDidNotUseCustomIndexNameHere> Entities => Set<EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimitIfWeDidNotUseCustomIndexNameHere>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimitIfWeDidNotUseCustomIndexNameHere>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Name)
+            .WithIndexName("IX_LongEntity_Order");
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithTooLongCustomIndexName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<ShortEntity> Entities => Set<ShortEntity>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<ShortEntity>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Name)
+            .WithIndexName(new string('X', 129)); // 129 characters exceeds limit
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithEmptyCustomIndexName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<ShortEntity> Entities => Set<ShortEntity>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<ShortEntity>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Name)
+            .WithIndexName("");
+    }
+}
+
+class ContextWithChainedIndexName(DbContextOptions options)
+    : DbContext(options)
+{
+    public DbSet<MultiPropertyEntity> Entities => Set<MultiPropertyEntity>();
+
+    protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
+    {
+        base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
+        modelBuilder.Entity<MultiPropertyEntity>()
+            .OrderBy(_ => _.Category)
+            .ThenBy(_ => _.Priority)
+            .WithIndexName("IX_Multi_Custom");
+    }
+}
+
+public class ShortEntity
+{
+    public int Id { get; set; }
+    public string Name { get; set; } = "";
+}
+
+public class EntityWithAnExtremelyLongNameThatWillDefinitelyExceedTheMaximumIndexNameLengthOfOneHundredTwentyEightCharactersWhenCombinedWithThePrefix
+{
+    public int Id { get; set; }
+    public string Name { get; set; } = "";
+}
+
+public class EntityWithVeryLongNameThatWouldExceedTheLimitIfWeDidNotUseCustomIndexNameHere
+{
+    public int Id { get; set; }
+    public string Name { get; set; } = "";
+}
+
+public class MultiPropertyEntity
+{
+    public int Id { get; set; }
+    public string Category { get; set; } = "";
+    public int Priority { get; set; }
+}