diff --git a/dask_kubernetes/operator/kubecluster/kubecluster.py b/dask_kubernetes/operator/kubecluster/kubecluster.py
index 900387560..56ed081e2 100644
--- a/dask_kubernetes/operator/kubecluster/kubecluster.py
+++ b/dask_kubernetes/operator/kubecluster/kubecluster.py
@@ -60,8 +60,9 @@ class KubeCluster(Cluster):
 
     Parameters
     ----------
-    name: str (required)
-        Name given the Dask cluster.
+    name: str (optional)
+        Name given the Dask cluster. Required except when custom_cluster_spec is
+        passed.
     namespace: str (optional)
         Namespace in which to launch the workers.
         Defaults to current namespace if available or "default"