diff --git a/bin/standard_benchmark b/bin/standard_benchmark
index 2363f86..8e8bb96 100755
--- a/bin/standard_benchmark
+++ b/bin/standard_benchmark
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ benchmark('batch insert (medium, no index)', insert_batch, PER_TRIAL/BATCH_SIZE,
 benchmark('batch insert (large, no index)', insert_batch, PER_TRIAL/BATCH_SIZE, db, 'large_bulk', LARGE)
 
 find_one = Proc.new { |coll, x, i|
-  coll.find_first('x' => x)
+  coll.find_one('x' => x)
 }
 benchmark('find_one (small, no index)', find_one, PER_TRIAL, db, 'small_none', PER_TRIAL / 2)
 benchmark('find_one (medium, no index)', find_one, PER_TRIAL, db, 'medium_none', PER_TRIAL / 2)
diff --git a/examples/benchmarks.rb b/examples/benchmarks.rb
index 3b7d71c..2a78632 100644
--- a/examples/benchmarks.rb
+++ b/examples/benchmarks.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 require "benchmark"
-  
+
 $LOAD_PATH[0,0] = File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'lib')
 require 'mongo'
 
@@ -20,21 +20,21 @@ arr = (0..OBJS_COUNT).collect {|x| { :number => x, :rndm => (rand(5)+1), :msg =>
 
 puts "Running benchmark"
 Benchmark.bmbm do |results|
-  results.report("single object inserts:  ") { 
+  results.report("single object inserts:  ") {
     TEST_COUNT.times {
       coll.clear
-      arr.each {|x| coll.insert(x)} 
+      arr.each {|x| coll.insert(x)}
     }
   }
-  results.report("multiple object insert: ") { 
+  results.report("multiple object insert: ") {
     TEST_COUNT.times {
       coll.clear
       coll.insert(arr)
     }
   }
-  results.report("find_first: ") {
+  results.report("find_one: ") {
     TEST_COUNT.times {
-      coll.find_first(:number => 0)
+      coll.find_one(:number => 0)
     }
   }
 end
diff --git a/lib/mongo/collection.rb b/lib/mongo/collection.rb
index aa63698..702963d 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/collection.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/collection.rb
@@ -89,8 +89,34 @@ module XGen
           @db.query(self, Query.new(selector, fields, offset, limit, sort, hint, snapshot))
         end
 
+        # Get a single object from the database.
+        #
+        # Raises TypeError if the argument is of an improper type. Returns a
+        # single document (hash), or nil if no result is found.
+        #
+        # :spec_or_object_id :: a hash specifying elements which must be
+        #   present for a document to be included in the result set OR an
+        #   instance of ObjectID to be used as the value for an _id query.
+        #   if nil an empty spec, {}, will be used.
+        def find_one(spec_or_object_id=nil)
+          spec = case spec_or_object_id
+                 when nil
+                   {}
+                 when ObjectID
+                   {:_id => spec_or_object_id}
+                 when Hash
+                   spec_or_object_id
+                 else
+                   raise TypeError, "spec_or_object_id must be an instance of ObjectID or Hash, or nil"
+                 end
+          find(spec, :limit => -1).next_object
+        end
+
+        # DEPRECATED - use find_one instead
+        #
         # Find the first record that matches +selector+. See #find.
         def find_first(selector={}, options={})
+          warn "Collection#find_first is deprecated and will be removed. Please use Collection#find_one instead."
           h = options.dup
           h[:limit] = 1
           cursor = find(selector, h)
diff --git a/lib/mongo/db.rb b/lib/mongo/db.rb
index a0bf087..5b18c4b 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/db.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/db.rb
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ module XGen
 
         # Dereference a DBRef, getting the document it points to.
         def dereference(dbref)
-          collection(dbref.namespace).find_first("_id" => dbref.object_id)
+          collection(dbref.namespace).find_one("_id" => dbref.object_id)
         end
 
         # Evaluate a JavaScript expression on MongoDB.
diff --git a/tests/mongo-qa/stress1 b/tests/mongo-qa/stress1
index 345151b..d9d808c 100755
--- a/tests/mongo-qa/stress1
+++ b/tests/mongo-qa/stress1
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ n1.times { |i|
 puts
 
 n2.times { |i|
-  x = c.find_first({:id => i})
+  x = c.find_one({:id => i})
   x['subarray'] = "foo#{i}"
   p x
   c.modify({:id => i}, x)
diff --git a/tests/test_collection.rb b/tests/test_collection.rb
index bfe9adc..bb952dd 100644
--- a/tests/test_collection.rb
+++ b/tests/test_collection.rb
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class TestCollection < Test::Unit::TestCase
   def test_safe_insert
     a = {"hello" => "world"}
     @@test.insert(a)
-    a = @@test.find_first() # TODO we need this because insert doesn't add _id
+    a = @@test.find_one() # TODO we need this because insert doesn't add _id
     @@test.insert(a)
     assert @@db.error.include? "E11000"
 
@@ -47,12 +47,12 @@ class TestCollection < Test::Unit::TestCase
     id1 = @@test.save("x" => 5)
     @@test.update({}, {"$inc" => {"x" => 1}})
     assert_equal 1, @@test.count()
-    assert_equal 6, @@test.find_first(:_id => id1)["x"]
+    assert_equal 6, @@test.find_one(:_id => id1)["x"]
 
     id2 = @@test.save("x" => 1)
     @@test.update({"x" => 6}, {"$inc" => {"x" => 1}})
-    assert_equal 7, @@test.find_first(:_id => id1)["x"]
-    assert_equal 1, @@test.find_first(:_id => id2)["x"]
+    assert_equal 7, @@test.find_one(:_id => id1)["x"]
+    assert_equal 1, @@test.find_one(:_id => id2)["x"]
   end
 
   def test_upsert
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class TestCollection < Test::Unit::TestCase
     @@test.update({"page" => "/"}, {"$inc" => {"count" => 1}}, :upsert => true)
 
     assert_equal 1, @@test.count()
-    assert_equal 2, @@test.find_first()["count"]
+    assert_equal 2, @@test.find_one()["count"]
   end
 
   def test_safe_update
@@ -86,5 +86,24 @@ class TestCollection < Test::Unit::TestCase
       @@test.save({"hello" => "world"}, :safe => true)
     end
   end
+
+  def test_find_one
+    id = @@test.save("hello" => "world")
+
+    assert_equal "world", @@test.find_one()["hello"]
+    assert_equal @@test.find_one(id), @@test.find_one()
+    assert_equal @@test.find_one(nil), @@test.find_one()
+    assert_equal @@test.find_one({}), @@test.find_one()
+    assert_equal @@test.find_one("hello" => "world"), @@test.find_one()
+    assert_equal @@test.find_one(OrderedHash["hello", "world"]), @@test.find_one()
+
+    assert_equal nil, @@test.find_one("hello" => "foo")
+    assert_equal nil, @@test.find_one(OrderedHash["hello", "foo"])
+    assert_equal nil, @@test.find_one(ObjectID.new)
+
+    assert_raise TypeError do
+      @@test.find_one(6)
+    end
+  end
 end
 
diff --git a/tests/test_db.rb b/tests/test_db.rb
index db2ed2c..3163ec9 100644
--- a/tests/test_db.rb
+++ b/tests/test_db.rb
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class DBTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
     insert_id = coll.insert('name' => 'Fred', 'age' => 42)
     # new id gets added to returned object
-    row = coll.find_first({'name' => 'Fred'}, :limit => 1)
+    row = coll.find_one({'name' => 'Fred'})
     oid = row['_id']
     assert_not_nil oid
     assert_equal insert_id, oid
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ class DBTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     oid = XGen::Mongo::Driver::ObjectID.new
     data = {'_id' => oid, 'name' => 'Barney', 'age' => 41}
     coll.insert(data)
-    row = coll.find_first({'name' => data['name']}, :limit => 1)
+    row = coll.find_one({'name' => data['name']})
     db_oid = row['_id']
     assert_equal oid, db_oid
     assert_equal data, row
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ class DBTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal 1, prev_error['nPrev']
     assert_equal prev_error["err"], @@db.error
 
-    @@db.collection('test').find_first
+    @@db.collection('test').find_one
     assert_nil @@db.error
     assert !@@db.error?
     assert @@db.previous_error
diff --git a/tests/test_db_api.rb b/tests/test_db_api.rb
index 06a4ebb..628ea4b 100644
--- a/tests/test_db_api.rb
+++ b/tests/test_db_api.rb
@@ -52,11 +52,11 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     oh['b'] = 'foo'
 
     oid = @@coll.save(oh)
-    assert_equal 'foo', @@coll.find_first(:_id => oid)['b']
+    assert_equal 'foo', @@coll.find_one(oid)['b']
 
     oh = OrderedHash['a' => 1, 'b' => 'foo']
     oid = @@coll.save(oh)
-    assert_equal 'foo', @@coll.find_first(:_id => oid)['b']
+    assert_equal 'foo', @@coll.find_one(oid)['b']
   end
 
   def test_insert_multiple
@@ -246,9 +246,9 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal 1, x['a']
   end
 
-  def test_find_first_no_records
+  def test_find_one_no_records
     @@coll.clear
-    x = @@coll.find_first('a' => 1)
+    x = @@coll.find_one('a' => 1)
     assert_nil x
   end
 
@@ -473,28 +473,28 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
   def test_replace
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 1
-    assert_equal @@coll.find_first["a"], 1
+    assert_equal @@coll.find_one["a"], 1
 
     @@coll.replace({"a" => 1}, {"a" => 2})
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 1
-    assert_equal @@coll.find_first["a"], 2
+    assert_equal @@coll.find_one["a"], 2
 
     @@coll.replace({"b" => 1}, {"a" => 3})
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 1
-    assert_equal @@coll.find_first["a"], 2
+    assert_equal @@coll.find_one["a"], 2
   end
 
   def test_repsert
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 1
-    assert_equal @@coll.find_first["a"], 1
+    assert_equal @@coll.find_one["a"], 1
 
     @@coll.repsert({"a" => 1}, {"a" => 2})
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 1
-    assert_equal @@coll.find_first["a"], 2
+    assert_equal @@coll.find_one["a"], 2
 
     @@coll.repsert({"b" => 1}, {"a" => 3})
     assert_equal @@coll.count, 2
-    assert @@coll.find_first({"a" => 3})
+    assert @@coll.find_one({"a" => 3})
   end
 
   def test_to_a
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal 3, @@db.eval('function (x) {return x;}', 3)
 
     assert_equal nil, @@db.eval("function (x) {db.test_eval.save({y:x});}", 5)
-    assert_equal 5, @@db.collection('test_eval').find_first['y']
+    assert_equal 5, @@db.collection('test_eval').find_one['y']
 
     assert_equal 5, @@db.eval("function (x, y) {return x + y;}", 2, 3)
     assert_equal 5, @@db.eval("function () {return 5;}")
@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     val = Hash.new(0)
     val["x"] = 5
     @@coll.insert val
-    id = @@coll.find_first("x" => 5)["_id"]
+    id = @@coll.find_one("x" => 5)["_id"]
     assert id != 0
   end
 
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
     assert_equal nil, @@db.dereference(DBRef.new("test", ObjectID.new))
     @@coll.insert({"x" => "hello"})
-    key = @@coll.find_first()["_id"]
+    key = @@coll.find_one()["_id"]
     assert_equal "hello", @@db.dereference(DBRef.new("test", key))["x"]
 
     assert_equal nil, @@db.dereference(DBRef.new("test", 4))
@@ -636,17 +636,17 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_kind_of ObjectID, id
     assert_equal 1, @@coll.count
 
-    assert_equal id, @@coll.save(@@coll.find_first)
+    assert_equal id, @@coll.save(@@coll.find_one)
     assert_equal 1, @@coll.count
 
-    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_first()["hello"]
+    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_one()["hello"]
 
-    doc = @@coll.find_first
+    doc = @@coll.find_one
     doc["hello"] = "mike"
     @@coll.save(doc)
     assert_equal 1, @@coll.count
 
-    assert_equal "mike", @@coll.find_first()["hello"]
+    assert_equal "mike", @@coll.find_one()["hello"]
 
     @@coll.save(a)
     assert_equal 2, @@coll.count
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   def test_save_long
     @@coll.clear
     @@coll.insert("x" => 9223372036854775807)
-    assert_equal 9223372036854775807, @@coll.find_first()["x"]
+    assert_equal 9223372036854775807, @@coll.find_one()["x"]
   end
 
   def test_find_by_oid
@@ -665,13 +665,13 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     id = @@coll.save("hello" => "world")
     assert_kind_of ObjectID, id
 
-    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_first(:_id => id)["hello"]
+    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_one(:_id => id)["hello"]
     @@coll.find(:_id => id).to_a.each do |doc|
       assert_equal "world", doc["hello"]
     end
 
     id = ObjectID.from_string(id.to_s)
-    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_first(:_id => id)["hello"]
+    assert_equal "world", @@coll.find_one(:_id => id)["hello"]
   end
 
   def test_save_with_object_that_has_id_but_does_not_actually_exist_in_collection
@@ -680,12 +680,12 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     a = {'_id' => '1', 'hello' => 'world'}
     @@coll.save(a)
     assert_equal(1, @@coll.count)
-    assert_equal("world", @@coll.find_first()["hello"])
+    assert_equal("world", @@coll.find_one()["hello"])
 
     a["hello"] = "mike"
     @@coll.save(a)
     assert_equal(1, @@coll.count)
-    assert_equal("mike", @@coll.find_first()["hello"])
+    assert_equal("mike", @@coll.find_one()["hello"])
   end
 
   def test_invalid_key_names