diff --git a/infra/feast-operator/api/v1alpha1/featurestore_types.go b/infra/feast-operator/api/v1alpha1/featurestore_types.go
index 756c2e17ab1..191505cc6a6 100644
--- a/infra/feast-operator/api/v1alpha1/featurestore_types.go
+++ b/infra/feast-operator/api/v1alpha1/featurestore_types.go
@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ const (
 
 // FeatureStoreSpec defines the desired state of FeatureStore
 type FeatureStoreSpec struct {
-	// +kubebuilder:validation:Pattern="^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$"
-	// FeastProject is the Feast project id. This can be any alphanumeric string with underscores, but it cannot start with an underscore. Required.
+	// +kubebuilder:validation:Pattern="^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$"
+	// FeastProject is the Feast project id. This can be any alphanumeric string with underscores and hyphens, but it cannot start with an underscore or hyphen. Required.
 	FeastProject    string                `json:"feastProject"`
 	FeastProjectDir *FeastProjectDir      `json:"feastProjectDir,omitempty"`
 	Services        *FeatureStoreServices `json:"services,omitempty"`
diff --git a/infra/feast-operator/bundle/manifests/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml b/infra/feast-operator/bundle/manifests/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
index 701ed9bf052..5afa2ea3704 100644
--- a/infra/feast-operator/bundle/manifests/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
+++ b/infra/feast-operator/bundle/manifests/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ spec:
                 type: object
               feastProject:
                 description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                 type: string
               feastProjectDir:
                 description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
@@ -4423,7 +4423,7 @@ spec:
                     type: object
                   feastProject:
                     description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                     type: string
                   feastProjectDir:
                     description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
diff --git a/infra/feast-operator/config/crd/bases/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml b/infra/feast-operator/config/crd/bases/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
index 360fbba5453..8debe3639f9 100644
--- a/infra/feast-operator/config/crd/bases/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
+++ b/infra/feast-operator/config/crd/bases/feast.dev_featurestores.yaml
@@ -463,7 +463,7 @@ spec:
                 type: object
               feastProject:
                 description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                 type: string
               feastProjectDir:
                 description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
@@ -4423,7 +4423,7 @@ spec:
                     type: object
                   feastProject:
                     description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                     type: string
                   feastProjectDir:
                     description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
diff --git a/infra/feast-operator/dist/install.yaml b/infra/feast-operator/dist/install.yaml
index 6c742822352..0cb55ee9000 100644
--- a/infra/feast-operator/dist/install.yaml
+++ b/infra/feast-operator/dist/install.yaml
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ spec:
                 type: object
               feastProject:
                 description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                 type: string
               feastProjectDir:
                 description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
@@ -4431,7 +4431,7 @@ spec:
                     type: object
                   feastProject:
                     description: FeastProject is the Feast project id.
-                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_]*$
+                    pattern: ^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_-]*$
                     type: string
                   feastProjectDir:
                     description: FeastProjectDir defines how to create the feast project
diff --git a/infra/feast-operator/docs/api/markdown/ref.md b/infra/feast-operator/docs/api/markdown/ref.md
index 9452d9c838b..68978a08cf0 100644
--- a/infra/feast-operator/docs/api/markdown/ref.md
+++ b/infra/feast-operator/docs/api/markdown/ref.md
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ _Appears in:_
 
 | Field | Description |
 | --- | --- |
-| `feastProject` _string_ | FeastProject is the Feast project id. This can be any alphanumeric string with underscores, but it cannot start with an underscore. Required. |
+| `feastProject` _string_ | FeastProject is the Feast project id. This can be any alphanumeric string with underscores and hyphens, but it cannot start with an underscore or hyphen. Required. |
 | `feastProjectDir` _[FeastProjectDir](#feastprojectdir)_ |  |
 | `services` _[FeatureStoreServices](#featurestoreservices)_ |  |
 | `authz` _[AuthzConfig](#authzconfig)_ |  |
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/project.py b/sdk/python/feast/project.py
index d9ec45dcc9b..b9cbaddcaad 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/project.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/project.py
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ def is_valid(self):
         if not is_valid_name(self.name):
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Project name, {self.name}, should only have "
-                f"alphanumerical values and underscores but not start with an underscore."
+                f"alphanumerical values, underscores, and hyphens but not start with an underscore or hyphen."
             )
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py b/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
index 948410c8861..f699aeaa198 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/repo_config.py
@@ -485,7 +485,7 @@ def _validate_project_name(cls, v: str) -> str:
         if not is_valid_name(v):
             raise ValueError(
                 f"Project name, {v}, should only have "
-                f"alphanumerical values and underscores but not start with an underscore."
+                f"alphanumerical values, underscores, and hyphens but not start with an underscore or hyphen."
             )
         return v
 
diff --git a/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py b/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
index c5837b0cdb1..72d892e5a0a 100644
--- a/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
+++ b/sdk/python/feast/repo_operations.py
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ def apply_total(repo_config: RepoConfig, repo_path: Path, skip_source_validation
         if not is_valid_name(project.name):
             print(
                 f"{project.name} is not valid. Project name should only have "
-                f"alphanumerical values and underscores but not start with an underscore."
+                f"alphanumerical values, underscores, and hyphens but not start with an underscore or hyphen."
             )
             sys.exit(1)
         # TODO: When we support multiple projects in a single repo, we should filter repo contents by project. Currently there is no way to associate Feast objects to project.
@@ -445,7 +445,7 @@ def init_repo(repo_name: str, template: str):
 
     if not is_valid_name(repo_name):
         raise BadParameter(
-            message="Name should be alphanumeric values and underscores but not start with an underscore",
+            message="Name should be alphanumeric values, underscores, and hyphens but not start with an underscore or hyphen",
             param_hint="PROJECT_DIRECTORY",
         )
     repo_path = Path(os.path.join(Path.cwd(), repo_name))
@@ -506,8 +506,10 @@ def init_repo(repo_name: str, template: str):
 
 
 def is_valid_name(name: str) -> bool:
-    """A name should be alphanumeric values and underscores but not start with an underscore"""
-    return not name.startswith("_") and re.compile(r"\W+").search(name) is None
+    """A name should be alphanumeric values, underscores, and hyphens but not start with an underscore"""
+    return (
+        not name.startswith(("_", "-")) and re.compile(r"[^\w-]+").search(name) is None
+    )
 
 
 def generate_project_name() -> str:
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/unit/infra/scaffolding/test_repo_config.py b/sdk/python/tests/unit/infra/scaffolding/test_repo_config.py
index bd6283e2d7b..c825bfd41b7 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/unit/infra/scaffolding/test_repo_config.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/unit/infra/scaffolding/test_repo_config.py
@@ -169,12 +169,12 @@ def test_invalid_project_name():
     _test_config(
         dedent(
             """
-        project: foo-1
+        project: -foo
         registry: "registry.db"
         provider: local
         """
         ),
-        expect_error="alphanumerical values ",
+        expect_error="alphanumerical values, underscores, and hyphens ",
     )
 
     _test_config(
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ def test_invalid_project_name():
         provider: local
         """
         ),
-        expect_error="alphanumerical values ",
+        expect_error="alphanumerical values, underscores, and hyphens ",
     )
 
 
diff --git a/sdk/python/tests/unit/test_repo_operations_validate_feast_project_name.py b/sdk/python/tests/unit/test_repo_operations_validate_feast_project_name.py
index 33d1d5307d6..f404b600477 100644
--- a/sdk/python/tests/unit/test_repo_operations_validate_feast_project_name.py
+++ b/sdk/python/tests/unit/test_repo_operations_validate_feast_project_name.py
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ def test_is_valid_name():
         ("invalid_name_", True),
         ("12345678901234567", True),
         ("too_long_name_123", True),
+        ("hyphen-name", True),
         # Invalid project name cases
         ("_invalidName", False),
-        ("invalid-Name", False),
         ("invalid name", False),
         ("invalid@name", False),
         ("invalid$name", False),