diff --git a/docs/configuration/optional-settings.md b/docs/configuration/optional-settings.md
index 82412cdf7..ae9948854 100644
--- a/docs/configuration/optional-settings.md
+++ b/docs/configuration/optional-settings.md
@@ -207,6 +207,15 @@ The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for NAPALM to connect to a device.
 
 ---
 
+## NATURAL_ORDERING
+
+Default: True
+
+Enable or disable the natural sort order when listing objects (see the Wikipedia page for [Natural sort order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_sort_order)).
+However, it is less efficient than the default sort, leading up to a high CPU consumption in database when sorting a lot of objects (a few thousands).
+
+---
+
 ## PAGINATE_COUNT
 
 Default: 50
diff --git a/netbox/dcim/models.py b/netbox/dcim/models.py
index 347f0c8b8..31e8885d9 100644
--- a/netbox/dcim/models.py
+++ b/netbox/dcim/models.py
@@ -296,7 +296,8 @@ class Site(ChangeLoggedModel, CustomFieldModel):
         to='extras.ImageAttachment'
     )
 
-    objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
+    if settings.NATURAL_ORDERING:
+        objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
     tags = TaggableManager()
 
     csv_headers = [
@@ -543,7 +544,8 @@ class Rack(ChangeLoggedModel, CustomFieldModel):
         to='extras.ImageAttachment'
     )
 
-    objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
+    if settings.NATURAL_ORDERING:
+        objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
     tags = TaggableManager()
 
     csv_headers = [
@@ -1432,7 +1434,8 @@ class Device(ChangeLoggedModel, ConfigContextModel, CustomFieldModel):
         to='extras.ImageAttachment'
     )
 
-    objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
+    if settings.NATURAL_ORDERING:
+        objects = NaturalOrderingManager()
     tags = TaggableManager()
 
     csv_headers = [
diff --git a/netbox/netbox/configuration.example.py b/netbox/netbox/configuration.example.py
index d7a9cf2ed..6dd6acee9 100644
--- a/netbox/netbox/configuration.example.py
+++ b/netbox/netbox/configuration.example.py
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ NAPALM_TIMEOUT = 30
 # be provided as a dictionary.
 NAPALM_ARGS = {}
 
+# Enable or disable the natural sort order when listing objects (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_sort_order
+# for details). However, it is less efficient than the default sort, leading up to a high CPU consumption in database
+# when sorting a lot of objects (a few thousands).
+NATURAL_ORDERING = True
+
 # Determine how many objects to display per page within a list. (Default: 50)
 PAGINATE_COUNT = 50
 
diff --git a/netbox/netbox/settings.py b/netbox/netbox/settings.py
index 8651c3d26..e9b9deeef 100644
--- a/netbox/netbox/settings.py
+++ b/netbox/netbox/settings.py
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ NAPALM_USERNAME = getattr(configuration, 'NAPALM_USERNAME', '')
 NAPALM_PASSWORD = getattr(configuration, 'NAPALM_PASSWORD', '')
 NAPALM_TIMEOUT = getattr(configuration, 'NAPALM_TIMEOUT', 30)
 NAPALM_ARGS = getattr(configuration, 'NAPALM_ARGS', {})
+NATURAL_ORDERING = getattr(configuration, 'NATURAL_ORDERING', True)
 PAGINATE_COUNT = getattr(configuration, 'PAGINATE_COUNT', 50)
 PREFER_IPV4 = getattr(configuration, 'PREFER_IPV4', False)
 REPORTS_ROOT = getattr(configuration, 'REPORTS_ROOT', os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'reports')).rstrip('/')