diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfig.java b/x-pack/plugin/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfig.java
index 9d040c1180b..d681d5bf04d 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfig.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfig.java
@@ -42,32 +42,30 @@ public class PivotConfig implements Writeable, ToXContentObject {
     private static final ConstructingObjectParser<PivotConfig, Void> LENIENT_PARSER = createParser(true);
 
     private static ConstructingObjectParser<PivotConfig, Void> createParser(boolean lenient) {
-        ConstructingObjectParser<PivotConfig, Void> parser = new ConstructingObjectParser<>(NAME, lenient,
-                args -> {
-                    GroupConfig groups = (GroupConfig) args[0];
+        ConstructingObjectParser<PivotConfig, Void> parser = new ConstructingObjectParser<>(NAME, lenient, args -> {
+            GroupConfig groups = (GroupConfig) args[0];
 
-                    // allow "aggs" and "aggregations" but require one to be specified
-                    // if somebody specifies both: throw
-                    AggregationConfig aggregationConfig = null;
-                    if (args[1] != null) {
-                        aggregationConfig = (AggregationConfig) args[1];
-                    }
+            // allow "aggs" and "aggregations" but require one to be specified
+            // if somebody specifies both: throw
+            AggregationConfig aggregationConfig = null;
+            if (args[1] != null) {
+                aggregationConfig = (AggregationConfig) args[1];
+            }
 
-                    if (args[2] != null) {
-                        if (aggregationConfig != null) {
-                            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Found two aggregation definitions: [aggs] and [aggregations]");
-                        }
-                        aggregationConfig = (AggregationConfig) args[2];
-                    }
-                    if (aggregationConfig == null) {
-                        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Required [aggregations]");
-                    }
+            if (args[2] != null) {
+                if (aggregationConfig != null) {
+                    throw new IllegalArgumentException("Found two aggregation definitions: [aggs] and [aggregations]");
+                }
+                aggregationConfig = (AggregationConfig) args[2];
+            }
+            if (aggregationConfig == null) {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException("Required [aggregations]");
+            }
 
-                    return new PivotConfig(groups, aggregationConfig, (Integer)args[3]);
-                });
+            return new PivotConfig(groups, aggregationConfig, (Integer) args[3]);
+        });
 
-        parser.declareObject(constructorArg(),
-                (p, c) -> (GroupConfig.fromXContent(p, lenient)), TransformField.GROUP_BY);
+        parser.declareObject(constructorArg(), (p, c) -> (GroupConfig.fromXContent(p, lenient)), TransformField.GROUP_BY);
 
         parser.declareObject(optionalConstructorArg(), (p, c) -> AggregationConfig.fromXContent(p, lenient), TransformField.AGGREGATIONS);
         parser.declareObject(optionalConstructorArg(), (p, c) -> AggregationConfig.fromXContent(p, lenient), TransformField.AGGS);
@@ -206,17 +204,26 @@ public class PivotConfig implements Writeable, ToXContentObject {
 
         usedNames.sort(String::compareTo);
         for (int i = 0; i < usedNames.size() - 1; i++) {
-            if (usedNames.get(i+1).startsWith(usedNames.get(i) + ".")) {
+            if (usedNames.get(i + 1).startsWith(usedNames.get(i) + ".")) {
                 validationFailures.add("field [" + usedNames.get(i) + "] cannot be both an object and a field");
             }
-            if (usedNames.get(i+1).equals(usedNames.get(i))) {
+            if (usedNames.get(i + 1).equals(usedNames.get(i))) {
                 validationFailures.add("duplicate field [" + usedNames.get(i) + "] detected");
             }
         }
+
+        for (String name : usedNames) {
+            if (name.startsWith(".")) {
+                validationFailures.add("field [" + name + "] must not start with '.'");
+            }
+            if (name.endsWith(".")) {
+                validationFailures.add("field [" + name + "] must not end with '.'");
+            }
+        }
+
         return validationFailures;
     }
 
-
     private static void addAggNames(AggregationBuilder aggregationBuilder, Collection<String> names) {
         names.add(aggregationBuilder.getName());
         aggregationBuilder.getSubAggregations().forEach(agg -> addAggNames(agg, names));
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfigTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfigTests.java
index 30c310fe3e4..e9bb572f33d 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfigTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/core/transform/transforms/pivot/PivotConfigTests.java
@@ -24,15 +24,19 @@ import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.empty;
 public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<PivotConfig> {
 
     public static PivotConfig randomPivotConfig() {
-        return new PivotConfig(GroupConfigTests.randomGroupConfig(),
+        return new PivotConfig(
+            GroupConfigTests.randomGroupConfig(),
             AggregationConfigTests.randomAggregationConfig(),
-            randomBoolean() ? null : randomIntBetween(10, 10_000));
+            randomBoolean() ? null : randomIntBetween(10, 10_000)
+        );
     }
 
     public static PivotConfig randomInvalidPivotConfig() {
-        return new PivotConfig(GroupConfigTests.randomGroupConfig(),
+        return new PivotConfig(
+            GroupConfigTests.randomGroupConfig(),
             AggregationConfigTests.randomInvalidAggregationConfig(),
-            randomBoolean() ? null : randomIntBetween(10, 10_000));
+            randomBoolean() ? null : randomIntBetween(10, 10_000)
+        );
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -52,44 +56,39 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
 
     public void testAggsAbbreviations() throws IOException {
         String pivotAggs = "{"
-                    + " \"group_by\": {"
-                    + "   \"id\": {"
-                    + "     \"terms\": {"
-                    + "       \"field\": \"id\""
-                    + "} } },"
-                    + " \"aggs\": {"
-                    + "   \"avg\": {"
-                    + "     \"avg\": {"
-                    + "       \"field\": \"points\""
-                    + "} } } }";
+            + " \"group_by\": {"
+            + "   \"id\": {"
+            + "     \"terms\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"id\""
+            + "} } },"
+            + " \"aggs\": {"
+            + "   \"avg\": {"
+            + "     \"avg\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"points\""
+            + "} } } }";
 
         PivotConfig p1 = createPivotConfigFromString(pivotAggs, false);
         String pivotAggregations = pivotAggs.replace("aggs", "aggregations");
         assertNotEquals(pivotAggs, pivotAggregations);
         PivotConfig p2 = createPivotConfigFromString(pivotAggregations, false);
-        assertEquals(p1,p2);
+        assertEquals(p1, p2);
     }
 
     public void testMissingAggs() throws IOException {
-        String pivot = "{"
-                + " \"group_by\": {"
-                + "   \"id\": {"
-                + "     \"terms\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"id\""
-                + "} } } }";
+        String pivot = "{" + " \"group_by\": {" + "   \"id\": {" + "     \"terms\": {" + "       \"field\": \"id\"" + "} } } }";
 
         expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> createPivotConfigFromString(pivot, false));
     }
 
     public void testEmptyAggs() throws IOException {
         String pivot = "{"
-                + " \"group_by\": {"
-                + "   \"id\": {"
-                + "     \"terms\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"id\""
-                + "} } },"
-                + "\"aggs\": {}"
-                + " }";
+            + " \"group_by\": {"
+            + "   \"id\": {"
+            + "     \"terms\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"id\""
+            + "} } },"
+            + "\"aggs\": {}"
+            + " }";
 
         expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> createPivotConfigFromString(pivot, false));
 
@@ -100,12 +99,12 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
 
     public void testEmptyGroupBy() throws IOException {
         String pivot = "{"
-                + " \"group_by\": {},"
-                + " \"aggs\": {"
-                + "   \"avg\": {"
-                + "     \"avg\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"points\""
-                + "} } } }";
+            + " \"group_by\": {},"
+            + " \"aggs\": {"
+            + "   \"avg\": {"
+            + "     \"avg\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"points\""
+            + "} } } }";
 
         expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> createPivotConfigFromString(pivot, false));
 
@@ -115,34 +114,29 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
     }
 
     public void testMissingGroupBy() {
-        String pivot = "{"
-                + " \"aggs\": {"
-                + "   \"avg\": {"
-                + "     \"avg\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"points\""
-                + "} } } }";
+        String pivot = "{" + " \"aggs\": {" + "   \"avg\": {" + "     \"avg\": {" + "       \"field\": \"points\"" + "} } } }";
 
         expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> createPivotConfigFromString(pivot, false));
     }
 
     public void testDoubleAggs() {
         String pivot = "{"
-                + " \"group_by\": {"
-                + "   \"id\": {"
-                + "     \"terms\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"id\""
-                + "} } },"
-                + " \"aggs\": {"
-                + "   \"avg\": {"
-                + "     \"avg\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"points\""
-                + "} } },"
-                + " \"aggregations\": {"
-                + "   \"avg\": {"
-                + "     \"avg\": {"
-                + "       \"field\": \"points\""
-                + "} } }"
-                + "}";
+            + " \"group_by\": {"
+            + "   \"id\": {"
+            + "     \"terms\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"id\""
+            + "} } },"
+            + " \"aggs\": {"
+            + "   \"avg\": {"
+            + "     \"avg\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"points\""
+            + "} } },"
+            + " \"aggregations\": {"
+            + "   \"avg\": {"
+            + "     \"avg\": {"
+            + "       \"field\": \"points\""
+            + "} } }"
+            + "}";
 
         expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> createPivotConfigFromString(pivot, false));
     }
@@ -171,17 +165,17 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
         String nestedField1 = randomAlphaOfLength(10) + "3";
         String nestedField2 = randomAlphaOfLength(10) + "4";
 
-        assertThat(PivotConfig.aggFieldValidation(Arrays.asList(prefix + nestedField1 + nestedField2,
-            prefix + nestedField1,
-            prefix,
-            prefix2)), is(empty()));
+        assertThat(
+            PivotConfig.aggFieldValidation(Arrays.asList(prefix + nestedField1 + nestedField2, prefix + nestedField1, prefix, prefix2)),
+            is(empty())
+        );
 
-        assertThat(PivotConfig.aggFieldValidation(
-            Arrays.asList(
-                dotJoin(prefix, nestedField1, nestedField2),
-                dotJoin(nestedField1, nestedField2),
-                nestedField2,
-                prefix2)), is(empty()));
+        assertThat(
+            PivotConfig.aggFieldValidation(
+                Arrays.asList(dotJoin(prefix, nestedField1, nestedField2), dotJoin(nestedField1, nestedField2), nestedField2, prefix2)
+            ),
+            is(empty())
+        );
     }
 
     public void testAggNameValidationsWithDuplicatesAndNestingIssues() {
@@ -197,12 +191,32 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
                 dotJoin(prefix, nestedField1),
                 dotJoin(prefix2, nestedField1),
                 dotJoin(prefix2, nestedField1),
-                prefix2));
+                prefix2
+            )
+        );
 
-        assertThat(failures,
-            containsInAnyOrder("duplicate field [" + dotJoin(prefix2, nestedField1) + "] detected",
+        assertThat(
+            failures,
+            containsInAnyOrder(
+                "duplicate field [" + dotJoin(prefix2, nestedField1) + "] detected",
                 "field [" + prefix2 + "] cannot be both an object and a field",
-                "field [" + dotJoin(prefix, nestedField1) + "] cannot be both an object and a field"));
+                "field [" + dotJoin(prefix, nestedField1) + "] cannot be both an object and a field"
+            )
+        );
+    }
+
+    public void testAggNameValidationsWithInvalidFieldnames() {
+        List<String> failures = PivotConfig.aggFieldValidation(Arrays.asList(".at_start", "at_end.", ".start_and_end."));
+
+        assertThat(
+            failures,
+            containsInAnyOrder(
+                "field [.at_start] must not start with '.'",
+                "field [at_end.] must not end with '.'",
+                "field [.start_and_end.] must not start with '.'",
+                "field [.start_and_end.] must not end with '.'"
+            )
+        );
     }
 
     private static String dotJoin(String... fields) {
@@ -210,8 +224,8 @@ public class PivotConfigTests extends AbstractSerializingTransformTestCase<Pivot
     }
 
     private PivotConfig createPivotConfigFromString(String json, boolean lenient) throws IOException {
-        final XContentParser parser = XContentType.JSON.xContent().createParser(xContentRegistry(),
-                DeprecationHandler.THROW_UNSUPPORTED_OPERATION, json);
+        final XContentParser parser = XContentType.JSON.xContent()
+            .createParser(xContentRegistry(), DeprecationHandler.THROW_UNSUPPORTED_OPERATION, json);
         return PivotConfig.fromXContent(parser, lenient);
     }
 }