diff --git a/src/Models/BaseElement.php b/src/Models/BaseElement.php
index dc1adccf..8e79c45b 100644
--- a/src/Models/BaseElement.php
+++ b/src/Models/BaseElement.php
@@ -63,9 +63,12 @@ class BaseElement extends DataObject implements CMSPreviewable
      *
      * @config
      * @var string
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 use class_description instead.
      */
     private static $description = 'Base element class';
 
+    private static $class_description = 'Base element class';
+
     /**
      * List of fields to exclude from CMS SiteTree seatch
      * @see ElementSiteTreeFilterSearch::applyDefaultFilters()
diff --git a/src/Models/ElementContent.php b/src/Models/ElementContent.php
index 3bf6486c..ffbcb038 100644
--- a/src/Models/ElementContent.php
+++ b/src/Models/ElementContent.php
@@ -23,8 +23,13 @@ class ElementContent extends BaseElement
 
     private static $plural_name = 'content blocks';
 
+    /**
+     * @deprecated 5.4.0 use class_description instead.
+     */
     private static $description = 'HTML text block';
 
+    private static $class_description = 'HTML text block';
+
     /**
      * Re-title the HTML field to Content
      *