diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2e583314..e968b650 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -590,11 +590,18 @@ kubeconfig(
 
 An executable that performs Kubernetes test setup:
 
-- creates temporary namespace
+- creates temporary namespace.
 - creates kubectl configuration with the default context set to the created namespace
 - deploys all dependent ***objects***
 - forwards service ports
 
+There are two ways to override the name of the namespace created by the `k8s_test_setup` rule:
+
+- specify a `K8S_TEST_NAMESPACE` environment variable. The value of the environment variable will be used as the namespace name.
+- specify a `K8S_MYNAMESPACE` environment variable. The presence of the variable would trigger the `k8s_test_setup` rule to use a namespace with the `whoami` name, typically reusing the `mynamespace` environment.
+
+In both cases, the namespace will not be deleted after the test is finished. This is useful for debugging purposes.
+
 | Parameter                  | Default        | Description
 | -------------------------- | -------------- | -----------
 | ***kubeconfig***           | `@k8s_test//:kubeconfig` | The Kubernetes configuration file target.
diff --git a/skylib/k8s_test_namespace.sh.tpl b/skylib/k8s_test_namespace.sh.tpl
index 2e3aadcd..05ad41e1 100644
--- a/skylib/k8s_test_namespace.sh.tpl
+++ b/skylib/k8s_test_namespace.sh.tpl
@@ -46,10 +46,16 @@ echo "Cluster: ${CLUSTER}" >&2
 echo "User: ${USER}" >&2
 
 set +e
-if [ -n "${K8S_MYNAMESPACE:-}" ]
+if [ -n "${K8S_TEST_NAMESPACE:-}" ]
+then
+    # use provided namespace
+    NAMESPACE=${K8S_TEST_NAMESPACE}
+    # do not delete namespace after the test is complete
+    DELETE_NAMESPACE_FLAG=""
+elif [ -n "${K8S_MYNAMESPACE:-}" ]
 then
     # do not create random namesspace
-    NAMESPACE=`whoami`
+    NAMESPACE=$(whoami)
     # do not delete namespace after the test is complete
     DELETE_NAMESPACE_FLAG=""
 else