diff --git a/config-example.yaml b/config-example.yaml
index dbb08202..05eafc7e 100644
--- a/config-example.yaml
+++ b/config-example.yaml
@@ -361,6 +361,15 @@ unix_socket_permission: "0770"
 #   # Custom scopes can be configured as needed, be sure to always include the
 #   # required "openid" scope.
 #   scope: ["openid", "profile", "email"]
+
+#   # Optional: control how Headscale derives the username (login name) from OIDC claims.
+#   # The first non-empty, valid value is used.
+#   # Supported values: preferred_username, email_localpart, email, name, sub
+#   # Defaults to [preferred_username, email_localpart, email, name, sub]
+#   # username_claim_order:
+#   #   - preferred_username
+#   #   - email_localpart
+#   #   - email
 #
 #   # Only verified email addresses are synchronized to the user profile by
 #   # default. Unverified emails may be allowed in case an identity provider
diff --git a/docs/ref/oidc.md b/docs/ref/oidc.md
index f6ec1bcd..8da9253c 100644
--- a/docs/ref/oidc.md
+++ b/docs/ref/oidc.md
@@ -179,6 +179,26 @@ Access Token.
     headscale node expire -i <NODE_ID>
     ```
 
+### Customize username mapping
+
+Some identity providers (notably Google OAuth) do not include the `preferred_username` claim. You can configure how
+Headscale derives the username (login name) by specifying a priority order of OIDC claims. The first non-empty, valid
+value is used.
+
+Supported values: `preferred_username`, `email_localpart`, `email`, `name`, `sub`.
+
+If not set, Headscale uses the default order: `preferred_username`, `email_localpart`, `email`, `name`, `sub`.
+
+Example that prefers the email local-part when `preferred_username` is missing:
+
+```yaml
+oidc:
+  username_claim_order:
+    - preferred_username
+    - email_localpart
+    - email
+```
+
 ### Reference a user in the policy
 
 You may refer to users in the Headscale policy via:
@@ -255,10 +275,15 @@ Authelia is fully supported by Headscale.
 
 ### Google OAuth
 
-!!! warning "No username due to missing preferred_username"
+!!! tip "Derive username with email local-part"
 
-    Google OAuth does not send the `preferred_username` claim when the scope `profile` is requested. The username in
-    Headscale will be blank/not set.
+    Google OAuth does not include the `preferred_username` claim. Configure `oidc.username_claim_order` so Headscale
+    derives a username from the email local-part:
+
+    ```yaml
+    oidc:
+      username_claim_order: [preferred_username, email_localpart, email]
+    ```
 
 In order to integrate Headscale with Google, you'll need to have a [Google Cloud
 Console](https://console.cloud.google.com) account.
diff --git a/hscontrol/oidc.go b/hscontrol/oidc.go
index 7013b8ed..1a144039 100644
--- a/hscontrol/oidc.go
+++ b/hscontrol/oidc.go
@@ -263,7 +263,19 @@ func (a *AuthProviderOIDC) OIDCCallbackHandler(
 		util.LogErr(err, "could not get userinfo; only using claims from id token")
 	}
 
-	// The user claims are now updated from the userinfo endpoint so we can verify the user
+	// The user claims are now updated from the userinfo endpoint so we can derive username
+	// and verify the user against authorization constraints.
+
+	// Derive username according to configured claim order (with sensible defaults)
+	order := a.cfg.UsernameClaimOrder
+	if len(order) == 0 {
+		order = []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "email", "name", "sub"}
+	}
+	if uname := types.DeriveUsername(&claims, order); uname != "" {
+		claims.Username = uname
+	}
+
+	// Now we can verify the user
 	// against allowed emails, email domains, and groups.
 	err = doOIDCAuthorization(a.cfg, &claims)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/hscontrol/types/config.go b/hscontrol/types/config.go
index 4068d72e..09beb012 100644
--- a/hscontrol/types/config.go
+++ b/hscontrol/types/config.go
@@ -189,6 +189,16 @@ type OIDCConfig struct {
 	Expiry                     time.Duration
 	UseExpiryFromToken         bool
 	PKCE                       PKCEConfig
+	// UsernameClaimOrder controls which OIDC claims are used to derive the
+	// Headscale username (login name) when authenticating via OIDC.
+	// The first non-empty, valid value is selected. Supported values:
+	//   - "preferred_username" (OIDC standard)
+	//   - "email" (full email address)
+	//   - "email_localpart" (portion before '@')
+	//   - "name" (full display name)
+	//   - "sub" (subject)
+	// If empty, the default order is: preferred_username, email_localpart, email, name, sub.
+	UsernameClaimOrder []string
 }
 
 type DERPConfig struct {
diff --git a/hscontrol/types/users.go b/hscontrol/types/users.go
index ec40492b..f97f5923 100644
--- a/hscontrol/types/users.go
+++ b/hscontrol/types/users.go
@@ -239,6 +239,56 @@ type OIDCClaims struct {
 	Username          string          `json:"preferred_username,omitempty"`
 }
 
+// DeriveUsername selects a username for the given claims based on the provided
+// priority order. The first non-empty, valid value wins. Supported keys:
+//   - "preferred_username": claims.Username
+//   - "email": claims.Email
+//   - "email_localpart": part of claims.Email before '@'
+//   - "name": claims.Name
+//   - "sub": claims.Sub
+//
+// Values are validated with util.ValidateUsername; invalid candidates are skipped.
+func DeriveUsername(claims *OIDCClaims, order []string) string {
+	pick := func(candidate string) (string, bool) {
+		if candidate == "" {
+			return "", false
+		}
+		if err := util.ValidateUsername(candidate); err != nil {
+			return "", false
+		}
+		return candidate, true
+	}
+
+	for _, key := range order {
+		switch strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(key)) {
+		case "preferred_username", "preferred-username", "username":
+			if v, ok := pick(claims.Username); ok {
+				return v
+			}
+		case "email":
+			if v, ok := pick(claims.Email); ok {
+				return v
+			}
+		case "email_localpart", "email-localpart", "email_local", "email-local":
+			if at := strings.Index(claims.Email, "@"); at > 0 {
+				if v, ok := pick(claims.Email[:at]); ok {
+					return v
+				}
+			}
+		case "name", "display_name", "display-name":
+			if v, ok := pick(claims.Name); ok {
+				return v
+			}
+		case "sub", "subject":
+			if v, ok := pick(claims.Sub); ok {
+				return v
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return ""
+}
+
 // Identifier returns a unique identifier string combining the Iss and Sub claims.
 // The format depends on whether Iss is a URL or not:
 // - For URLs: Joins the URL and sub path (e.g., "https://example.com/sub")
diff --git a/hscontrol/types/users_test.go b/hscontrol/types/users_test.go
index 15386553..1d413d02 100644
--- a/hscontrol/types/users_test.go
+++ b/hscontrol/types/users_test.go
@@ -493,3 +493,95 @@ func TestOIDCClaimsJSONToUser(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestDeriveUsername validates username derivation from OIDC claims.
+// Tests that DeriveUsername correctly selects and validates usernames
+// from configured claim order, falling back to next claim if current is invalid.
+func TestDeriveUsername(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name          string
+		claims        *OIDCClaims
+		claimOrder    []string
+		expectedValid bool
+		expectedName  string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "preferred_username-available",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "alice",
+				Email:    "alice@example.com",
+				Sub:      "alice-sub-123",
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: true,
+			expectedName:  "alice",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "fallback-to-email-localpart",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "", // preferred_username is empty
+				Email:    "bob@example.com",
+				Sub:      "bob-sub-456",
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: true,
+			expectedName:  "bob",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "fallback-to-subject",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "", // preferred_username is empty
+				Email:    "", // email is empty
+				Sub:      "charlie-sub-789",
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: true,
+			expectedName:  "charlie-sub-789",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "invalid-claim-skipped",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "invalid user!", // Invalid: contains space and special character
+				Email:    "diana@example.com",
+				Sub:      "diana-sub-000",
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: true,
+			expectedName:  "diana", // Falls back to email_localpart
+		},
+		{
+			name: "custom-claim-order",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "eve",
+				Email:    "eve@example.com",
+				Sub:      "eve-sub-111",
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"email_localpart", "preferred_username", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: true,
+			expectedName:  "eve", // email_localpart comes first, but both "eve" and "eve@example.com" -> "eve"
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no-valid-username-available",
+			claims: &OIDCClaims{
+				Username: "",  // preferred_username is empty
+				Email:    "@", // Invalid email, no local part
+				Sub:      "",  // sub is empty
+			},
+			claimOrder:    []string{"preferred_username", "email_localpart", "sub"},
+			expectedValid: false,
+			expectedName:  "",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			derived := DeriveUsername(tt.claims, tt.claimOrder)
+			if tt.expectedValid {
+				assert.NotEmpty(t, derived, "expected username to be derived")
+				assert.Equal(t, tt.expectedName, derived, "expected derived username to match")
+			} else {
+				assert.Empty(t, derived, "expected no valid username")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/integration/auth_oidc_test.go b/integration/auth_oidc_test.go
index 359dd456..a1bb1515 100644
--- a/integration/auth_oidc_test.go
+++ b/integration/auth_oidc_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"maps"
 	"net/netip"
 	"net/url"
+	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"testing"
@@ -1915,3 +1916,118 @@ func TestOIDCReloginSameUserRoutesPreserved(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Logf("Test completed - verifying issue #2896 fix for OIDC")
 }
+
+// TestOIDCUsernameClaimOrder validates configurable OIDC username claim mapping.
+// Tests that when preferred_username is absent (e.g., Google OAuth),
+// the system correctly derives usernames from configured claim order (email, name, sub).
+func TestOIDCUsernameClaimOrder(t *testing.T) {
+	IntegrationSkip(t)
+
+	type testCase struct {
+		name               string
+		usernameClaimOrder string // Empty uses default, otherwise specify: "email_localpart,sub"
+		oidcUsers          []mockoidc.MockUser
+		expectedUsernames  []string // Expected usernames after OIDC registration
+	}
+
+	tests := []testCase{
+		{
+			name:               "fallback-to-email-localpart-without-preferred-username",
+			usernameClaimOrder: "", // Use default: preferred_username, email_localpart, email, name, sub
+			oidcUsers: []mockoidc.MockUser{
+				oidcMockUserNoPreferredUsername("google-user1", "alice@example.com", true),
+				oidcMockUserNoPreferredUsername("google-user2", "bob@example.com", true),
+			},
+			expectedUsernames: []string{"alice", "bob"}, // Extracted from email local-part
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "custom-order-prioritize-email-localpart",
+			usernameClaimOrder: "email_localpart,sub",
+			oidcUsers: []mockoidc.MockUser{
+				oidcMockUserNoPreferredUsername("google-user3", "charlie@domain.io", true),
+			},
+			expectedUsernames: []string{"charlie"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "fallback-to-subject-when-email-empty",
+			usernameClaimOrder: "email_localpart,sub",
+			oidcUsers: []mockoidc.MockUser{
+				{
+					Subject:       "diana-unique-id-12345",
+					Email:         "", // Email is intentionally empty
+					EmailVerified: true,
+				},
+			},
+			expectedUsernames: []string{"diana-unique-id-12345"}, // Sub as fallback
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			spec := ScenarioSpec{
+				NodesPerUser: 1,
+			}
+
+			// Create one user per expected username for Headscale CLI
+			spec.Users = tt.expectedUsernames
+
+			// Use provided OIDC users
+			spec.OIDCUsers = tt.oidcUsers
+
+			scenario, err := NewScenario(spec)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			defer scenario.ShutdownAssertNoPanics(t)
+
+			// Build OIDC configuration map
+			oidcMap := map[string]string{
+				"HEADSCALE_OIDC_ISSUER":             scenario.mockOIDC.Issuer(),
+				"HEADSCALE_OIDC_CLIENT_ID":          scenario.mockOIDC.ClientID(),
+				"CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY_TEST":        "/tmp",
+				"HEADSCALE_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET_PATH": "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY_TEST}/hs_client_oidc_secret",
+			}
+
+			// Add custom username claim order if specified
+			if tt.usernameClaimOrder != "" {
+				oidcMap["HEADSCALE_OIDC_USERNAME_CLAIM_ORDER"] = tt.usernameClaimOrder
+			}
+
+			err = scenario.CreateHeadscaleEnvWithLoginURL(
+				nil,
+				hsic.WithTestName("oidcusernameorder"),
+				hsic.WithConfigEnv(oidcMap),
+				hsic.WithTLS(),
+				hsic.WithFileInContainer("/tmp/hs_client_oidc_secret", []byte(scenario.mockOIDC.ClientSecret())),
+			)
+			requireNoErrHeadscaleEnv(t, err)
+
+			// Wait for nodes to authenticate and trigger user creation via OIDC
+			err = scenario.WaitForTailscaleSync()
+			requireNoErrSync(t, err)
+
+			headscale, err := scenario.Headscale()
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			// Verify users were created with expected usernames derived from claims
+			assert.EventuallyWithT(t, func(c *assert.CollectT) {
+				users, err := headscale.ListUsers()
+				assert.NoError(c, err)
+
+				// Filter to only OIDC users (Provider = "oidc")
+				var oidcUsernames []string
+				for _, u := range users {
+					if u.GetProvider() == "oidc" {
+						oidcUsernames = append(oidcUsernames, u.GetName())
+					}
+				}
+
+				// Sort for consistent comparison
+				slices.Sort(oidcUsernames)
+				expectedSorted := slices.Clone(tt.expectedUsernames)
+				slices.Sort(expectedSorted)
+
+				assert.Equal(c, expectedSorted, oidcUsernames,
+					"OIDC users should be created with usernames derived from configured claims")
+			}, 10*time.Second, 500*time.Millisecond, "OIDC users should be created with derived usernames")
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/integration/helpers.go b/integration/helpers.go
index 7d40c8e6..d8db36d9 100644
--- a/integration/helpers.go
+++ b/integration/helpers.go
@@ -919,6 +919,18 @@ func oidcMockUser(username string, emailVerified bool) mockoidc.MockUser {
 	}
 }
 
+// oidcMockUserNoPreferredUsername creates a MockUser without PreferredUsername claim.
+// This simulates OIDC providers (like Google) that don't include preferred_username in their claims,
+// useful for testing username derivation from alternative claims (email, subject, etc).
+func oidcMockUserNoPreferredUsername(subject, email string, emailVerified bool) mockoidc.MockUser {
+	return mockoidc.MockUser{
+		Subject:       subject,
+		Email:         email,
+		EmailVerified: emailVerified,
+		// PreferredUsername is intentionally empty
+	}
+}
+
 // GetUserByName retrieves a user by name from the headscale server.
 // This is a common pattern used when creating preauth keys or managing users.
 func GetUserByName(headscale ControlServer, username string) (*v1.User, error) {