diff --git a/doc/cli/help.txt b/doc/cli/help.txt
index 19600ea..e358c4e 100644
--- a/doc/cli/help.txt
+++ b/doc/cli/help.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   -q, --quiet .............. minimise nodemon messages to start/stop only.
   -V, --verbose ............ show detail on what is causing restarts.
   -I, --no-stdin ........... don't try to read from stdin.
-  -S, --no-startup ......... disable running script on startup.
+  -C, --on-change-only ..... execute script on change only, not startup
   -d, --delay n ............ debounce restart for "n" seconds.
   -L, --legacy-watch ....... Forces node to use the most compatible version
                              for watching file changes.
diff --git a/lib/cli/parse.js b/lib/cli/parse.js
index 0743688..c6b699d 100644
--- a/lib/cli/parse.js
+++ b/lib/cli/parse.js
@@ -191,8 +191,8 @@ function nodemonOption(options, arg, eatNext) {
     options.stdin = false;
   }
 
-  else if (arg === '--no-startup' || arg === '-S') {
-    options.runOnStartup = false;
+  else if (arg === '--on-change-only' || arg === '-C') {
+    options.runOnChangeOnly = true;
   }
 
   else if (arg === '--ext' || arg === '-e') {
diff --git a/lib/config/defaults.js b/lib/config/defaults.js
index 5a91ce4..95d4e91 100644
--- a/lib/config/defaults.js
+++ b/lib/config/defaults.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ module.exports = {
   ignore: ['.git', 'node_modules', 'bower_components', '.sass-cache'],
   watch: ['*.*'],
   stdin: true,
-  runOnStartup: true,
+  runOnChangeOnly: false,
   verbose: false,
   // 'stdout' refers to the default behaviour of a required nodemon's child,
   // but also includes stderr. If this is false, data is still dispatched via
diff --git a/lib/monitor/run.js b/lib/monitor/run.js
index 34ae9ed..ad5dc52 100644
--- a/lib/monitor/run.js
+++ b/lib/monitor/run.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ exec('ps', function(error) {
 function run(options) {
   var cmd = config.command.raw;
 
-  var runCmd = config.lastStarted !== 0 || options.runOnStartup;
+  var runCmd = !options.runOnChangeOnly || config.lastStarted !== 0;
   if (runCmd) {
     utils.log.status('starting `' + config.command.string + '`');
   }
diff --git a/test/cli/parse.test.js b/test/cli/parse.test.js
index 02a3514..58e1cf2 100644
--- a/test/cli/parse.test.js
+++ b/test/cli/parse.test.js
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ describe('nodemon argument parser', function () {
   });
 
   it('should support short versions of flags', function () {
-    var settings = cli.parse('node nodemon -v -x java -I -V -q -w fixtures -i fixtures -d 5 -L -S -e jade');
+    var settings = cli.parse('node nodemon -v -x java -I -V -q -w fixtures -i fixtures -d 5 -L -C -e jade');
     assert(settings.version, 'version');
     assert(settings.verbose, 'verbose');
     assert(settings.exec === 'java', 'exec');
@@ -247,13 +247,13 @@ describe('nodemon argument parser', function () {
     assert(settings.ignore[0] === 'fixtures', 'ignore');
     assert(settings.delay === 5000, 'delay 5 seconds');
     assert(settings.legacyWatch, 'legacy watch method');
-    assert(settings.runOnStartup === false, 'run on startup');
+    assert(settings.runOnChangeOnly, 'run on change only');
     assert(settings.ext === 'jade', 'extension is jade');
   });
 
 
   it('should support long versions of flags', function () {
-    var settings = cli.parse('node nodemon --version --exec java --verbose --quiet --watch fixtures --ignore fixtures --no-stdin --delay 5 --legacy-watch --exitcrash --no-startup --ext jade');
+    var settings = cli.parse('node nodemon --version --exec java --verbose --quiet --watch fixtures --ignore fixtures --no-stdin --delay 5 --legacy-watch --exitcrash --on-change-only --ext jade');
     assert(settings.version, 'version');
     assert(settings.verbose, 'verbose');
     assert(settings.exec === 'java', 'exec');
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ describe('nodemon argument parser', function () {
     assert(settings.ignore[0] === 'fixtures', 'ignore');
     assert(settings.delay === 5000, 'delay 5 seconds');
     assert(settings.legacyWatch, 'legacy watch method');
-    assert(settings.runOnStartup === false, 'run on startup');
+    assert(settings.runOnChangeOnly, 'run on change only');
     assert(settings.ext === 'jade', 'extension is jade');
   });
 });
diff --git a/test/monitor/run.test.js b/test/monitor/run.test.js
index 9864a63..c5fb954 100644
--- a/test/monitor/run.test.js
+++ b/test/monitor/run.test.js
@@ -106,12 +106,12 @@ describe('when nodemon runs (2)', function () {
     });
   });
 
-  it('should not run command if runOnStartup is false', function(done) {
+  it('should not run command on startup if runOnChangeOnly is true', function(done) {
     fs.writeFileSync(tmp, 'console.log("testing 1 2 3")');
 
     nodemon({
       script: tmp,
-      runOnStartup: false,
+      runOnChangeOnly: true,
       stdout: false
     }).on('stdout', function() {
       assert(false, 'there should not be any stdout');