diff --git a/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb b/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
index 601e7e12764..7f0d6d7b5d7 100644
--- a/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
+++ b/src/main/ruby/hbase/admin.rb
@@ -200,6 +200,7 @@ module Hbase
             idx = idx + 1
           end
         elsif arg.kind_of?(Hash) and (arg.has_key?(NUMREGIONS) or arg.has_key?(SPLITALGO))
+          raise(ArgumentError, "Column family configuration should be specified in a separate clause") if arg.has_key?(NAME)
           raise(ArgumentError, "Number of regions must be specified") unless arg.has_key?(NUMREGIONS)
           raise(ArgumentError, "Split algorithm must be specified") unless arg.has_key?(SPLITALGO)
           raise(ArgumentError, "Number of regions must be geter than 1") unless arg[NUMREGIONS] > 1