diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 385f66f..81d70d5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -330,15 +330,21 @@ As of 1.4.18, syncoid also automatically supports and enables resume of interrup
 
 + --exclude=REGEX
 
-	The given regular expression will be matched against all datasets which would be synced by this run and excludes them. This argument can be specified multiple times.
+	__DEPRECATION NOTICE:__ `--exclude` has been deprecated and will be removed in a future release. Please use `--exclude-datasets` instead.
+
+	The given regular expression will be matched against all datasets which would be synced by this run and excludes them. This argument can be specified multiple times. The provided regex pattern is matched against the dataset name only; this option does not affect which snapshots are synchronized. If both `--exclude` and `--exclude-datasets` are provided, then `--exclude` is ignored.
+
++ --exclude-datasets=REGEX
+
+	The given regular expression will be matched against all datasets which would be synced by this run and excludes them. This argument can be specified multiple times. The provided regex pattern is matched against the dataset name only; this option does not affect which snapshots are synchronized.
 
 + --exclude-snaps=REGEX
 
-	Exclude specific snapshots that match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
+	Exclude specific snapshots that match the given regular expression. The provided regex pattern is matched against the snapshot name only. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
 
 + --include-snaps=REGEX
 
-	Only include snapshots that match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
+	Only include snapshots that match the given regular expression. The provided regex pattern is matched against the snapshot name only. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
 
 + --no-resume
 
diff --git a/syncoid b/syncoid
index 33e4694..6e37af2 100755
--- a/syncoid
+++ b/syncoid
@@ -26,10 +26,20 @@ GetOptions(\%args, "no-command-checks", "monitor-version", "compress=s", "dumpsn
                    "debug", "quiet", "no-stream", "no-sync-snap", "no-resume", "exclude=s@", "skip-parent", "identifier=s",
                    "no-clone-handling", "no-privilege-elevation", "force-delete", "create-bookmark", 
                    "pv-options=s" => \$pvoptions, "keep-sync-snap", "preserve-recordsize", "mbuffer-size=s" => \$mbuffer_size,
-                   "include-snaps=s@", "exclude-snaps=s@") or pod2usage(2);
+                   "include-snaps=s@", "exclude-snaps=s@", "exclude-datasets=s@") or pod2usage(2);
 
 my %compressargs = %{compressargset($args{'compress'} || 'default')}; # Can't be done with GetOptions arg, as default still needs to be set
 
+if (defined($args{'exclude'})) {
+	writelog('WARN', 'The --exclude option is deprecated, please use --exclude-datasets instead');
+
+	# If both --exclude and --exclude-datasets are provided, then ignore
+	# --exclude
+	if (!defined($args{'exclude-datasets'})) {
+		$args{'exclude-datasets'} = $args{'exclude'};
+	}
+}
+
 my @sendoptions = ();
 if (length $args{'sendoptions'}) {
 	@sendoptions = parsespecialoptions($args{'sendoptions'});
@@ -256,8 +266,8 @@ sub getchilddatasets {
 
 		my ($dataset, $origin) = /^([^\t]+)\t([^\t]+)/;
 
-		if (defined $args{'exclude'}) {
-			my $excludes = $args{'exclude'};
+		if (defined $args{'exclude-datasets'}) {
+			my $excludes = $args{'exclude-datasets'};
 			foreach (@$excludes) {
 				if ($dataset =~ /$_/) {
 					writelog('DEBUG', "excluded $dataset because of $_");
@@ -2065,7 +2075,8 @@ Options:
   --keep-sync-snap      Don't destroy created sync snapshots
   --create-bookmark     Creates a zfs bookmark for the newest snapshot on the source after replication succeeds (only works with --no-sync-snap)
   --preserve-recordsize Preserves the recordsize on initial sends to the target
-  --exclude=REGEX       Exclude specific datasets which match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times
+  --exclude=REGEX       DEPRECATED. Equivalent to --exclude-datasets, but will be removed in a future release. Ignored if --exclude-datasets is also provided.
+  --exclude-datasets=REGEX Exclude specific datasets which match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times
   --exclude-snaps=REGEX Exclude specific snapshots that match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
   --include-snaps=REGEX Only include snapshots that match the given regular expression. Can be specified multiple times. If a snapshot matches both the exclude-snaps and include-snaps patterns, then it will be excluded.
   --sendoptions=OPTIONS Use advanced options for zfs send (the arguments are filtered as needed), e.g. syncoid --sendoptions="Lc e" sets zfs send -L -c -e ...