diff --git a/docs/settings/banners-settings.asciidoc b/docs/settings/banners-settings.asciidoc
index 837b6352ff0df..d61da50018921 100644
--- a/docs/settings/banners-settings.asciidoc
+++ b/docs/settings/banners-settings.asciidoc
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ You can configure the `xpack.banners` settings in your `kibana.yml` file.
 |===
 
 | `xpack.banners.placement`
-| Set to `header` to enable the header banner. Defaults to `disabled`.
+| Set to `top` to enable the top banner. Defaults to `disabled`.
 
 | `xpack.banners.textContent`
 | The text to display inside the banner, either plain text or Markdown.
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/README.md b/x-pack/plugins/banners/README.md
index 890c194e1bcb0..6ef2d9196f379 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/README.md
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/README.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ The options are
 
 The placement of the banner. The allowed values are: 
   - `disabled` -  The banner will be disabled
-  - `header` - The banner will be displayed in the header
+  - `top` - The banner will be displayed in the header
 
 - `textContent`
 
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ The color for the banner's background. Must be a valid hex color
 `kibana.yml`
 ```yaml
 xpack.banners:
-  placement: 'header'
+  placement: 'top'
   textContent: 'Production environment - Proceed with **special levels** of caution'
   textColor: '#FF0000'
   backgroundColor: '#CC2211'
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/common/types.ts b/x-pack/plugins/banners/common/types.ts
index 0c785f516ddb3..6c16b4e8055bb 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/common/types.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/common/types.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ export interface BannerInfoResponse {
   banner: BannerConfiguration;
 }
 
-export type BannerPlacement = 'disabled' | 'header';
+export type BannerPlacement = 'disabled' | 'top';
 
 export interface BannerConfiguration {
   placement: BannerPlacement;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.test.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.test.tsx
index 232bd840ba353..8722d9516b9db 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.test.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.test.tsx
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ describe('BannersPlugin', () => {
   });
 
   describe('when banner is allowed', () => {
-    it('registers the header banner if `banner.placement` is `header`', async () => {
+    it('registers the header banner if `banner.placement` is `top`', async () => {
       getBannerInfoMock.mockResolvedValue({
         allowed: true,
         banner: createBannerConfig({
-          placement: 'header',
+          placement: 'top',
         }),
       });
 
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ describe('BannersPlugin', () => {
   });
 
   describe('when banner is not allowed', () => {
-    it('does not register the header banner if `banner.placement` is `header`', async () => {
+    it('does not register the header banner if `banner.placement` is `top`', async () => {
       getBannerInfoMock.mockResolvedValue({
         allowed: false,
         banner: createBannerConfig({
-          placement: 'header',
+          placement: 'top',
         }),
       });
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.tsx
index 57853ece553d8..014d2de58b9ea 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/public/plugin.tsx
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export class BannersPlugin implements Plugin<{}, {}, {}, {}> {
   start({ chrome, uiSettings, http }: CoreStart) {
     getBannerInfo(http).then(
       ({ allowed, banner }) => {
-        if (allowed && banner.placement === 'header') {
+        if (allowed && banner.placement === 'top') {
           chrome.setHeaderBanner({
             content: toMountPoint(<Banner bannerConfig={banner} />),
           });
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/plugin.test.ts b/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/plugin.test.ts
index bf5dabc8fc564..b3f8c7be696cd 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/plugin.test.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/plugin.test.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('BannersPlugin', () => {
 
   beforeEach(() => {
     bannerConfig = {
-      placement: 'header',
+      placement: 'top',
       textContent: 'foo',
       backgroundColor: '#000000',
       textColor: '#FFFFFF',
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/ui_settings.test.ts b/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/ui_settings.test.ts
index 0cf447aed71a8..9fae019774336 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/ui_settings.test.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/banners/server/ui_settings.test.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ describe('registerSettings', () => {
 
   it('uses the configuration values as defaults', () => {
     const config = createConfig({
-      placement: 'header',
+      placement: 'top',
       backgroundColor: '#FF00CC',
       textColor: '#AAFFEE',
       textContent: 'Some text',