diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 6fe1720796dbf12f355e3a3b1a74410d88e75ad7..96965a20f69449ee7e1ce907fa82c6e7a9403867 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ v 8.11.0 (unreleased)
   - Bump gitlab_git to lazy load compare commits
   - Reduce number of queries made for merge_requests/:id/diffs
   - Sensible state specific default sort order for issues and merge requests !5453 (tomb0y)
+  - Fix bug where destroying a namespace would not always destroy projects
   - Fix RequestProfiler::Middleware error when code is reloaded in development
   - Catch what warden might throw when profiling requests to re-throw it
   - Avoid commit lookup on diff_helper passing existing local variable to the helper method
diff --git a/app/controllers/admin/groups_controller.rb b/app/controllers/admin/groups_controller.rb
index f3a88a8e6c8cd47e8b1143c2fbf14140b9996764..4ce18321649dac629f511ff1b6789d7a34aa97b6 100644
--- a/app/controllers/admin/groups_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/admin/groups_controller.rb
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ class Admin::GroupsController < Admin::ApplicationController
   end
 
   def destroy
-    DestroyGroupService.new(@group, current_user).execute
+    DestroyGroupService.new(@group, current_user).async_execute
 
-    redirect_to admin_groups_path, notice: 'Group was successfully deleted.'
+    redirect_to admin_groups_path, alert: "Group '#{@group.name}' was scheduled for deletion."
   end
 
   private
diff --git a/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb b/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
index 6780a6d4d8731b23cdae74365aea3493a245a866..cb82d62616c863835f5b77eac7851abef4054bf7 100644
--- a/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/groups_controller.rb
@@ -87,9 +87,9 @@ class GroupsController < Groups::ApplicationController
   end
 
   def destroy
-    DestroyGroupService.new(@group, current_user).execute
+    DestroyGroupService.new(@group, current_user).async_execute
 
-    redirect_to root_path, alert: "Group '#{@group.name}' was successfully deleted."
+    redirect_to root_path, alert: "Group '#{@group.name}' was scheduled for deletion."
   end
 
   protected
diff --git a/app/models/namespace.rb b/app/models/namespace.rb
index 8b52cc824cd6c860cbf9af349cd7575bdb58170b..7c29d27ce9784c954960a7c0bf119b3ed79e5f0c 100644
--- a/app/models/namespace.rb
+++ b/app/models/namespace.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 class Namespace < ActiveRecord::Base
+  acts_as_paranoid
+
   include Sortable
   include Gitlab::ShellAdapter
 
diff --git a/app/services/delete_user_service.rb b/app/services/delete_user_service.rb
index 2f237de813c6b3f93b4b3e6b33b71fab139b1c8b..eaff88d64632caec372c6148794107b45d75c48b 100644
--- a/app/services/delete_user_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/delete_user_service.rb
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ class DeleteUserService
       ::Projects::DestroyService.new(project, current_user, skip_repo: true).async_execute
     end
 
-    user.destroy
+    # Destroy the namespace after destroying the user since certain methods may depend on the namespace existing
+    namespace = user.namespace
+    user_data = user.destroy
+    namespace.really_destroy!
+
+    user_data
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/services/destroy_group_service.rb b/app/services/destroy_group_service.rb
index a4ebccb5606509ec87b72e51c33039e3a03facd6..0081364b8aaae9b0f8728c46a21e51b6cf2a6d00 100644
--- a/app/services/destroy_group_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/destroy_group_service.rb
@@ -5,13 +5,23 @@ class DestroyGroupService
     @group, @current_user = group, user
   end
 
+  def async_execute
+    group.transaction do
+      # Soft delete via paranoia gem
+      group.destroy
+      job_id = GroupDestroyWorker.perform_async(group.id, current_user.id)
+      Rails.logger.info("User #{current_user.id} scheduled a deletion of group ID #{group.id} with job ID #{job_id}")
+    end
+  end
+
   def execute
     group.projects.each do |project|
+      # Execute the destruction of the models immediately to ensure atomic cleanup.
       # Skip repository removal because we remove directory with namespace
-      # that contain all this repositories
-      ::Projects::DestroyService.new(project, current_user, skip_repo: true).async_execute
+      # that contain all these repositories
+      ::Projects::DestroyService.new(project, current_user, skip_repo: true).execute
     end
 
-    group.destroy
+    group.really_destroy!
   end
 end
diff --git a/app/workers/group_destroy_worker.rb b/app/workers/group_destroy_worker.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5048746f09ba5590f9a8b1a10318726345b112dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/workers/group_destroy_worker.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+class GroupDestroyWorker
+  include Sidekiq::Worker
+
+  sidekiq_options queue: :default
+
+  def perform(group_id, user_id)
+    begin
+      group = Group.with_deleted.find(group_id)
+    rescue ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
+      return
+    end
+
+    user = User.find(user_id)
+
+    DestroyGroupService.new(group, user).execute
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/migrate/20140407135544_fix_namespaces.rb b/db/migrate/20140407135544_fix_namespaces.rb
index 9137496669837f189ae1ccc2c04b89e09e691350..0026ce645a6617ac9b40e8e177be400d310d20d7 100644
--- a/db/migrate/20140407135544_fix_namespaces.rb
+++ b/db/migrate/20140407135544_fix_namespaces.rb
@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 # rubocop:disable all
 class FixNamespaces < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  DOWNTIME = false
+
   def up
-    Namespace.where('name <> path and type is null').each do |namespace|
-      namespace.update_attribute(:name, namespace.path)
+    namespaces = exec_query('SELECT id, path FROM namespaces WHERE name <> path and type is null')
+
+    namespaces.each do |row|
+      id = row['id']
+      path = row['path']
+      exec_query("UPDATE namespaces SET name = '#{path}' WHERE id = #{id}")
     end
   end
 
diff --git a/db/migrate/20160805041956_add_deleted_at_to_namespaces.rb b/db/migrate/20160805041956_add_deleted_at_to_namespaces.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a853de3abfbed5842ea423efbe77c077d0163028
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20160805041956_add_deleted_at_to_namespaces.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+class AddDeletedAtToNamespaces < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  include Gitlab::Database::MigrationHelpers
+
+  DOWNTIME = false
+
+  disable_ddl_transaction!
+
+  def change
+    add_column :namespaces, :deleted_at, :datetime
+    add_concurrent_index :namespaces, :deleted_at
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index 6c85e1e9dba669216a6a7883a54248f8ddf53f65..1de2cdcf026bf81c4aa1c3119cebb5ebe95cca8d 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -640,9 +640,11 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 20160810142633) do
     t.boolean  "share_with_group_lock",  default: false
     t.integer  "visibility_level",       default: 20,    null: false
     t.boolean  "request_access_enabled", default: true,  null: false
+    t.datetime "deleted_at"
   end
 
   add_index "namespaces", ["created_at"], name: "index_namespaces_on_created_at", using: :btree
+  add_index "namespaces", ["deleted_at"], name: "index_namespaces_on_deleted_at", using: :btree
   add_index "namespaces", ["name"], name: "index_namespaces_on_name", unique: true, using: :btree
   add_index "namespaces", ["name"], name: "index_namespaces_on_name_trigram", using: :gin, opclasses: {"name"=>"gin_trgm_ops"}
   add_index "namespaces", ["owner_id"], name: "index_namespaces_on_owner_id", using: :btree
diff --git a/spec/controllers/admin/groups_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/admin/groups_controller_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0239aea47fb83f05934006436583d1f6f2126822
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/controllers/admin/groups_controller_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+describe Admin::GroupsController do
+  let(:group) { create(:group) }
+  let(:project) { create(:project, namespace: group) }
+  let(:admin) { create(:admin) }
+
+  before do
+    sign_in(admin)
+    Sidekiq::Testing.fake!
+  end
+
+  describe 'DELETE #destroy' do
+    it 'schedules a group destroy' do
+      expect { delete :destroy, id: project.group.path }.to change(GroupDestroyWorker.jobs, :size).by(1)
+    end
+
+    it 'redirects to the admin group path' do
+      delete :destroy, id: project.group.path
+
+      expect(response).to redirect_to(admin_groups_path)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/controllers/groups_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/groups_controller_spec.rb
index cd98fecd0c7fdc8bd3c6b54741daed81bfa5c987..4ae6364207b98fbb88a872008f11b3f74b48cf9b 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/groups_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/groups_controller_spec.rb
@@ -75,4 +75,33 @@ describe GroupsController do
       end
     end
   end
+
+  describe 'DELETE #destroy' do
+    context 'as another user' do
+      it 'returns 404' do
+        sign_in(create(:user))
+
+        delete :destroy, id: group.path
+
+        expect(response.status).to eq(404)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'as the group owner' do
+      before do
+        Sidekiq::Testing.fake!
+        sign_in(user)
+      end
+
+      it 'schedules a group destroy' do
+        expect { delete :destroy, id: group.path }.to change(GroupDestroyWorker.jobs, :size).by(1)
+      end
+
+      it 'redirects to the root path' do
+        delete :destroy, id: group.path
+
+        expect(response).to redirect_to(root_path)
+      end
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/users_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/users_spec.rb
index e0e041b4e152eb48d64f6a1da0bce9870c269390..0bbba64a6d581973ddadbfc91354c1e4ba585434 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/users_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/users_spec.rb
@@ -564,12 +564,14 @@ describe API::API, api: true  do
   end
 
   describe "DELETE /users/:id" do
+    let!(:namespace) { user.namespace }
     before { admin }
 
     it "deletes user" do
       delete api("/users/#{user.id}", admin)
       expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
       expect { User.find(user.id) }.to raise_error ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
+      expect { Namespace.find(namespace.id) }.to raise_error ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound
       expect(json_response['email']).to eq(user.email)
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/services/delete_user_service_spec.rb b/spec/services/delete_user_service_spec.rb
index 630458f9efcb4f9210cee05d3ec1bd116bd10a79..418a12a83a94b5f3f4810e927184709c1d960578 100644
--- a/spec/services/delete_user_service_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/delete_user_service_spec.rb
@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@ describe DeleteUserService, services: true do
 
     context 'no options are given' do
       it 'deletes the user' do
-        DeleteUserService.new(current_user).execute(user)
+        user_data = DeleteUserService.new(current_user).execute(user)
 
-        expect { User.find(user.id)       }.to  raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound)
+        expect { user_data['email'].to eq(user.email) }
+        expect { User.find(user.id) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound)
+        expect { Namespace.with_deleted.find(user.namespace.id) }.to raise_error(ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound)
       end
 
       it 'will delete the project in the near future' do
diff --git a/spec/services/destroy_group_service_spec.rb b/spec/services/destroy_group_service_spec.rb
index eca8ddd8ea4bc4d2da1d96fdf0b0ef6c6039a6ea..da72464360490627f451a08b7601aa8860cfbab8 100644
--- a/spec/services/destroy_group_service_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/destroy_group_service_spec.rb
@@ -7,38 +7,52 @@ describe DestroyGroupService, services: true do
   let!(:gitlab_shell) { Gitlab::Shell.new }
   let!(:remove_path) { group.path + "+#{group.id}+deleted" }
 
-  context 'database records' do
-    before do
-      destroy_group(group, user)
+  shared_examples 'group destruction' do |async|
+    context 'database records' do
+      before do
+        destroy_group(group, user, async)
+      end
+
+      it { expect(Group.all).not_to include(group) }
+      it { expect(Project.all).not_to include(project) }
     end
 
-    it { expect(Group.all).not_to include(group) }
-    it { expect(Project.all).not_to include(project) }
-  end
+    context 'file system' do
+      context 'Sidekiq inline' do
+        before do
+          # Run sidekiq immediatly to check that renamed dir will be removed
+          Sidekiq::Testing.inline! { destroy_group(group, user, async) }
+        end
 
-  context 'file system' do
-    context 'Sidekiq inline' do
-      before do
-        # Run sidekiq immediatly to check that renamed dir will be removed
-        Sidekiq::Testing.inline! { destroy_group(group, user) }
+        it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, group.path)).to be_falsey }
+        it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, remove_path)).to be_falsey }
       end
 
-      it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, group.path)).to be_falsey }
-      it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, remove_path)).to be_falsey }
-    end
+      context 'Sidekiq fake' do
+        before do
+          # Dont run sidekiq to check if renamed repository exists
+          Sidekiq::Testing.fake! { destroy_group(group, user, async) }
+        end
 
-    context 'Sidekiq fake' do
-      before do
-        # Dont run sidekiq to check if renamed repository exists
-        Sidekiq::Testing.fake! { destroy_group(group, user) }
+        it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, group.path)).to be_falsey }
+        it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, remove_path)).to be_truthy }
       end
+    end
 
-      it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, group.path)).to be_falsey }
-      it { expect(gitlab_shell.exists?(project.repository_storage_path, remove_path)).to be_truthy }
+    def destroy_group(group, user, async)
+      if async
+        DestroyGroupService.new(group, user).async_execute
+      else
+        DestroyGroupService.new(group, user).execute
+      end
     end
   end
 
-  def destroy_group(group, user)
-    DestroyGroupService.new(group, user).execute
+  describe 'asynchronous delete' do
+    it_behaves_like 'group destruction', true
+  end
+
+  describe 'synchronous delete' do
+    it_behaves_like 'group destruction', false
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/workers/group_destroy_worker_spec.rb b/spec/workers/group_destroy_worker_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4e4eaf9b2f71c63c4f9eb1dfe465edad6469ea50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/workers/group_destroy_worker_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+require 'spec_helper'
+
+describe GroupDestroyWorker do
+  let(:group) { create(:group) }
+  let(:user) { create(:admin) }
+  let!(:project) { create(:project, namespace: group) }
+
+  subject { GroupDestroyWorker.new }
+
+  describe "#perform" do
+    it "deletes the project" do
+      subject.perform(group.id, user.id)
+
+      expect(Group.all).not_to include(group)
+      expect(Project.all).not_to include(project)
+      expect(Dir.exist?(project.path)).to be_falsey
+    end
+  end
+end