diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
index c94315271..bcbd39918 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
@@ -40,9 +40,7 @@ class EmailLinkChooserWithLinkTextForm(forms.Form):
 class LoginForm(AuthenticationForm):
     username = forms.CharField(
         max_length=254,
-        widget=forms.TextInput(attrs={'placeholder': ugettext_lazy("Enter your username"),
-                                      'tabindex': '1',
-                                      }),
+        widget=forms.TextInput(attrs={'tabindex': '1',}),
     )
     password = forms.CharField(
         widget=forms.PasswordInput(attrs={'placeholder': ugettext_lazy("Enter password"),
@@ -50,6 +48,11 @@ class LoginForm(AuthenticationForm):
                                           }),
     )
 
+    def __init__(self, request=None, *args, **kwargs):
+        super(LoginForm, self).__init__(request=request, *args, **kwargs)
+        self.fields['username'].widget.attrs['placeholder'] = ugettext_lazy("Enter your %s") % self.username_field.verbose_name
+
+
 
 class PasswordResetForm(PasswordResetForm):
     email = forms.EmailField(label=ugettext_lazy("Enter your email address to reset your password"), max_length=254)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/login.html b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/login.html
index 7772f44b9..42e4188ec 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/login.html
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/templates/wagtailadmin/login.html
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
         {% if form.errors %}
             <div class="messages">
                 <ul>
-                    <li class="error">{% trans "Your username and password didn't match. Please try again." %}</li>
+                    <li class="error">{% blocktrans %}Your {{ username_field }} and password didn't match. Please try again.{% endblocktrans %}</li>
                 </ul>
             </div>
         {% endif %}
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/account.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/account.py
index 9dfa15b9e..f2e7e5a6c 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/account.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/account.py
@@ -78,11 +78,13 @@ def login(request):
     if request.user.is_authenticated() and request.user.has_perm('wagtailadmin.access_admin'):
         return redirect('wagtailadmin_home')
     else:
+        from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
         return auth_login(request,
             template_name='wagtailadmin/login.html',
             authentication_form=forms.LoginForm,
             extra_context={
                 'show_password_reset': getattr(settings, 'WAGTAIL_PASSWORD_MANAGEMENT_ENABLED', True),
+                'username_field': get_user_model().USERNAME_FIELD,
             },
         )