diff --git a/sqlmodel/main.py b/sqlmodel/main.py
index 300031de8b..fe8e7584e4 100644
--- a/sqlmodel/main.py
+++ b/sqlmodel/main.py
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@
 from sqlalchemy.orm import (
     Mapped,
     RelationshipProperty,
-    declared_attr,
     registry,
     relationship,
 )
@@ -566,6 +565,10 @@ def __new__(
             "__sqlmodel_relationships__": relationships,
             "__annotations__": pydantic_annotations,
         }
+        # Set default __tablename__ before class creation so it's part of the
+        # class dict and consistent with the ClassVar[str | Callable] declaration.
+        if "__tablename__" not in class_dict:
+            dict_used["__tablename__"] = name.lower()
         # Duplicate logic from Pydantic to filter config kwargs because if they are
         # passed directly including the registry Pydantic will pass them over to the
         # superclass causing an error
@@ -865,10 +868,6 @@ def __repr_args__(self) -> Sequence[tuple[str | None, Any]]:
             if not (isinstance(k, str) and k.startswith("_sa_"))
         ]
 
-    @declared_attr  # type: ignore
-    def __tablename__(cls) -> str:
-        return cls.__name__.lower()
-
     @classmethod
     def model_validate(  # type: ignore[override]
         cls: type[_TSQLModel],
diff --git a/tests/test_tablename.py b/tests/test_tablename.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4aadcccd14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_tablename.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+from sqlalchemy import inspect
+from sqlmodel import Field, Session, SQLModel, create_engine, select
+from sqlmodel.pool import StaticPool
+
+
+def _engine():
+    return create_engine(
+        "sqlite://", connect_args={"check_same_thread": False}, poolclass=StaticPool
+    )
+
+
+def test_default_tablename() -> None:
+    """table=True models get __tablename__ = classname.lower() by default."""
+
+    class Gadget(SQLModel, table=True):
+        id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
+
+    assert Gadget.__tablename__ == "gadget"
+
+    engine = _engine()
+    SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)
+    assert inspect(engine).has_table("gadget")
+
+
+def test_explicit_tablename() -> None:
+    """An explicit __tablename__ overrides the default."""
+
+    class Widget(SQLModel, table=True):
+        __tablename__ = "custom_widgets"
+        id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
+        name: str
+
+    assert Widget.__tablename__ == "custom_widgets"
+
+    engine = _engine()
+    SQLModel.metadata.create_all(engine)
+    assert inspect(engine).has_table("custom_widgets")
+    assert not inspect(engine).has_table("widget")
+
+    with Session(engine) as session:
+        session.add(Widget(name="sprocket"))
+        session.commit()
+
+    with Session(engine) as session:
+        row = session.exec(select(Widget)).first()
+        assert row is not None
+        assert row.name == "sprocket"
+
+
+def test_tablename_inheritance_default() -> None:
+    """A subclass that is also a table gets its own default __tablename__."""
+
+    class BaseThing(SQLModel, table=True):
+        id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
+        kind: str = "base"
+
+    class SubThing(BaseThing, table=True):
+        extra: str | None = None
+
+    assert BaseThing.__tablename__ == "basething"
+    assert SubThing.__tablename__ == "subthing"
+
+
+def test_tablename_inheritance_explicit_child() -> None:
+    """A subclass can set its own __tablename__, visible on the class."""
+
+    class Vehicle(SQLModel, table=True):
+        id: int | None = Field(default=None, primary_key=True)
+        kind: str = ""
+
+    class Truck(Vehicle, table=True):
+        __tablename__ = "trucks"
+        payload: int | None = None
+
+    assert Vehicle.__tablename__ == "vehicle"
+    assert Truck.__tablename__ == "trucks"
+
+
+def test_tablename_default_on_plain_model() -> None:
+    """Non-table models also get a default __tablename__."""
+
+    class Schema(SQLModel):
+        name: str
+
+    assert Schema.__tablename__ == "schema"