diff --git a/components/dashboard/src/components/DropDown2.tsx b/components/dashboard/src/components/DropDown2.tsx
index bd4e2d15332247..95f9ec2b2cc64a 100644
--- a/components/dashboard/src/components/DropDown2.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard/src/components/DropDown2.tsx
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ export const DropDown2: FunctionComponent<DropDown2Props> = ({
     onSelectionChange,
     onSearchChange,
 }) => {
-    const triggerEl = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
     const inputEl = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
     const [showDropDown, setShowDropDown] = useState<boolean>(!disabled && !!expanded);
     const [search, setSearch] = useState<string>("");
@@ -140,9 +139,10 @@ export const DropDown2: FunctionComponent<DropDown2Props> = ({
                 }
                 return;
             }
+            // Capture escape ourselves instead of letting radix do it
+            // allows us to close the dropdown and preventDefault on event
             if (e.key === "Escape") {
                 setShowDropDown(false);
-                triggerEl.current?.focus();
                 e.preventDefault();
             }
             if (e.key === "Enter") {
@@ -173,7 +173,6 @@ export const DropDown2: FunctionComponent<DropDown2Props> = ({
     return (
         <RadixPopover.Root defaultOpen={expanded} open={showDropDown} onOpenChange={handleOpenChange}>
             <RadixPopover.Trigger
-                ref={triggerEl}
                 className={classNames(
                     "h-16 bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-800 flex flex-row items-center justify-start px-2 text-left",
                     // when open, just have border radius on top
diff --git a/components/dashboard/src/projects/create-project-modal/CreateProjectModal.tsx b/components/dashboard/src/projects/create-project-modal/CreateProjectModal.tsx
index 24d94f672fb34a..a9592c7be7ef80 100644
--- a/components/dashboard/src/projects/create-project-modal/CreateProjectModal.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard/src/projects/create-project-modal/CreateProjectModal.tsx
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ export const CreateProjectModal: FC<Props> = ({ onClose, onCreated }) => {
             return;
         }
 
-        const projectName = selectedRepo.repositoryName || selectedRepo.projectName || selectedRepo.url;
-
         const newProjectArgs: CreateProjectArgs = {
-            name: projectName,
-            slug: projectName,
+            // leave the name empty to let the backend generate the name
+            name: "",
+            // deprecated
+            slug: "",
             cloneUrl: selectedRepo.url,
             appInstallationId: "",
         };
diff --git a/components/server/src/workspace/gitpod-server-impl.ts b/components/server/src/workspace/gitpod-server-impl.ts
index c094cce713457b..2a24fe3f9205c2 100644
--- a/components/server/src/workspace/gitpod-server-impl.ts
+++ b/components/server/src/workspace/gitpod-server-impl.ts
@@ -2541,6 +2541,10 @@ export class GitpodServerImpl implements GitpodServerWithTracing, Disposable {
         await this.guardTeamOperation(params.teamId || "", "get");
         await this.auth.checkPermissionOnOrganization(user.id, "create_project", params.teamId);
 
+        if ((params.name || "").length > 32) {
+            throw new ApplicationError(ErrorCodes.BAD_REQUEST, "A project name cannot be longer than 32 characters.");
+        }
+
         // Ensure we can parse the provided url ok
         const { host, owner, repo } = RepoURL.parseRepoUrl(params.cloneUrl) || {};
         if (!host || !owner || !repo) {
@@ -2564,7 +2568,18 @@ export class GitpodServerImpl implements GitpodServerWithTracing, Disposable {
             );
         }
 
-        const project = await this.projectsService.createProject(params, user);
+        const newProjectParams: CreateProjectParams = {
+            cloneUrl: params.cloneUrl,
+            teamId: params.teamId,
+            // Default to repo name (capped at 32 chars) if name is not provided
+            name: params.name || repo.substring(0, 32),
+            // TODO: we should be able to remove this - field deprecated
+            slug: "",
+            // TODO: we should be able to remove this since we don't use it anymore
+            appInstallationId: params.appInstallationId,
+        };
+
+        const project = await this.projectsService.createProject(newProjectParams, user);
 
         // update client registration for the logged in user
         if (this.client && !this.disposables.disposed) {