diff --git a/bifrost/cli.py b/bifrost/cli.py
index aaa8b1968..4f2c11288 100644
--- a/bifrost/cli.py
+++ b/bifrost/cli.py
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ def cmd_install(args):
             enabled_hardware_types=args.hardware_types,
             cleaning_disk_erase=args.cleaning_disk_erase,
             testing=args.testenv,
-            use_cirros=args.testenv,
+            download_custom_deploy_image=args.testenv,
             use_tinyipa=args.testenv,
             developer_mode=args.develop,
             enable_prometheus_exporter=args.enable_prometheus_exporter,
diff --git a/doc/source/install/offline-install.rst b/doc/source/install/offline-install.rst
index 45b2dad1b..347235b76 100644
--- a/doc/source/install/offline-install.rst
+++ b/doc/source/install/offline-install.rst
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ this.
 
     ipa_kernel_upstream_url: file:///vagrant/ipa-centos9-master.kernel
     ipa_ramdisk_upstream_url: file:///vagrant/ipa-centos9-master.initramfs
-    cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url: file:///vagrant/cirros-0.5.1-x86_64-disk.img
+    custom_deploy_image_upstream_url: file:///vagrant/cirros-0.5.3-x86_64-disk.img
     dib_git_url: file:///vagrant/git/diskimage-builder
     ironicclient_git_url: file:///vagrant/git/python-ironicclient
     ironic_git_url: file:///vagrant/git/ironic
diff --git a/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/localhost b/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/localhost
index eb3ce355c..a828da19f 100644
--- a/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/localhost
+++ b/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/localhost
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ mysql_password:
 # deploy_image: "{{http_boot_folder}}/{{deploy_image_filename}}"
 
 # Setting to utilize diskimage-builder to create a bootable image.
-create_image_via_dib: "{{ not use_cirros | default(false) | bool }}"
+create_image_via_dib: "{{ not (download_custom_deploy_image | default(use_cirros) | default(false) | bool) }}"
 dib_image_type: vm
 
 # Create IPA image instead of downloading an pre-made IPA image.
diff --git a/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/target b/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/target
index eb3ce355c..a828da19f 100644
--- a/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/target
+++ b/playbooks/inventory/group_vars/target
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ mysql_password:
 # deploy_image: "{{http_boot_folder}}/{{deploy_image_filename}}"
 
 # Setting to utilize diskimage-builder to create a bootable image.
-create_image_via_dib: "{{ not use_cirros | default(false) | bool }}"
+create_image_via_dib: "{{ not (download_custom_deploy_image | default(use_cirros) | default(false) | bool) }}"
 dib_image_type: vm
 
 # Create IPA image instead of downloading an pre-made IPA image.
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-configdrives-dynamic/defaults/main.yml b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-configdrives-dynamic/defaults/main.yml
index c9fc379cd..ac666f1c3 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-configdrives-dynamic/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-configdrives-dynamic/defaults/main.yml
@@ -15,12 +15,15 @@ internal_ip: "{{ hostvars[ans_hostname]['ansible_' + ans_network_interface]['ipv
 node_default_network_interface: eth0
 
 testing: false
-use_cirros: false
+
+# Build images by default
+download_custom_deploy_image: "{{ use_cirros | default(false) }}"
+
 # write_interfaces_file is intended for utilizing base logic to write
 # a debian style interfaces file into the configuration drive file
 # such that cirros will receive basic network configuration when
 # performing basic testing.
-write_interfaces_file: "{{ use_cirros }}"
+write_interfaces_file: "{{ download_custom_deploy_image }}"
 
 # Basic networking defaults
 ipv4_subnet_mask: 255.255.255.0
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/defaults/main.yml b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
index d73987f8e..96ba32682 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ sushy_source_install: false
 staging_drivers_source_install: true
 prometheus_exporter_source_install: true
 # Setting to utilize diskimage-builder to create a bootable image.
-create_image_via_dib: "{{ not use_cirros | default(false) | bool }}"
+create_image_via_dib: "{{ not (download_custom_deploy_image) }}"
 create_ipa_image: false
 dib_image_type: vm
 dib_os_element: "debian"
@@ -106,15 +106,19 @@ deploy_image_filename: "deployment_image.qcow2"
 deploy_image: "{{ http_boot_folder }}/{{ deploy_image_filename }}"
 esp_image: "{{ http_boot_folder }}/esp.img"
 esp_image_url: "{{ ipa_file_protocol }}://{{ internal_ip }}:{{ file_url_port }}/esp.img"
-# Use cirros instead of building an image via diskimage-builder
-use_cirros: false
+# Download a deployment image (default cirros) instead of building an image via diskimage-builder
+download_custom_deploy_image: "{{ use_cirros | default(false) }}"
 # Download IPA by default
 download_ipa: true
 update_repos: true
 update_ipa: "{{ update_repos }}"
 # Use the DIB dynamic-login element to insert the SSH key
 ipa_add_ssh_key: false
-cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url: https://download.cirros-cloud.net/0.5.1/cirros-0.5.1-x86_64-disk.img
+# NOTE(Alex-Welsh): cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url has been deprecated in
+# favor of custom_deploy_image_upstream_url but is included for backwards
+# compatability. It should be swapped permanently to
+# custom_deploy_image_upstream_url in the next major release.
+custom_deploy_image_upstream_url: "{{ cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url | default('https://download.cirros-cloud.net/0.5.3/cirros-0.5.3-x86_64-disk.img') }}"
 # By default bifrost will deploy dnsmasq to utilize as an integrated DHCP
 # server. If you already have a DHCP server or do not need DHCP/TFTP at all,
 # you can pass --disable-dhcp to the bifrost-cli install command to disable it.
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/tasks/bootstrap.yml b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/tasks/bootstrap.yml
index 00eb8f8bc..7ab3e9fc5 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/tasks/bootstrap.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/bifrost-ironic-install/tasks/bootstrap.yml
@@ -401,18 +401,18 @@
     - not create_ipa_image | bool
     - download_ipa | bool
 
-- when: use_cirros | bool
+- when: download_custom_deploy_image | bool
   block:
-    - name: "Download cirros to use for deployment if requested"
+    - name: "Download a custom image to use for deployment if requested"
       get_url:
-        url: "{{ cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url }}"
+        url: "{{ custom_deploy_image_upstream_url }}"
         dest: "{{ deploy_image }}"
         owner: ironic
         group: ironic
         mode: "0644"
   rescue:
     - name: "Attempt to use curl if get_url fails"
-      command: "curl -L --output {{ deploy_image }} {{ cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url }}" # noqa: command-instead-of-module
+      command: "curl -L --output {{ deploy_image }} {{ custom_deploy_image_upstream_url }}" # noqa: command-instead-of-module
     - name: Set file permissions
       file:
         path: "{{ deploy_image }}"
@@ -420,9 +420,9 @@
         group: ironic
         mode: "0644"
 
-- when: use_cirros | bool
+- when: download_custom_deploy_image | bool
   block:
-    - name: "Create a checksum file for cirros"
+    - name: "Create a checksum file for the custom deployment image"
       shell: md5sum {{ deploy_image_filename }} > {{ deploy_image_filename }}.CHECKSUMS
       args:
         chdir: "{{ http_boot_folder }}"
diff --git a/playbooks/test-bifrost.yaml b/playbooks/test-bifrost.yaml
index 16b084d16..643a74be5 100644
--- a/playbooks/test-bifrost.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/test-bifrost.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Set BIFROST_INVENTORY_SOURCE
 # export BIFROST_INVENTORY_SOURCE=/tmp/baremetal.json
 # Execute the installation and VM startup test.
-# ansible-playbook -vvvv -i inventory/bifrost_inventory.py test-bifrost.yaml -e use_cirros=true -e testing_user=cirros
+# ansible-playbook -vvvv -i inventory/bifrost_inventory.py test-bifrost.yaml -e download_custom_deploy_image=true -e testing_user=cirros
 ---
 - hosts: localhost
   connection: local
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
       block:
       - name: "Set variables if running in the CI"
         set_fact:
-           cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url: file:///opt/cache/files/cirros-0.5.3-x86_64-disk.img
+           custom_deploy_image_upstream_url: file:///opt/cache/files/cirros-0.5.3-x86_64-disk.img
            copy_from_local_path: true
            git_url_root: "{{ lookup('env', 'WORKSPACE') }}"
       - name: "Check if openstacksdk is cloned"
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/generalise-use_cirros-be75f2c5452491a1.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/generalise-use_cirros-be75f2c5452491a1.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..77571ad0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/generalise-use_cirros-be75f2c5452491a1.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+deprecations:
+  - |
+    `use_cirros` and `cirros_deploy_image_upstream_url` have been deprecated in
+    favour of `download_custom_deploy_image` and
+    `custom_deploy_image_upstream_url` respectively, to better reflect their
+    OS-agnositic nature. The old variables will be removed in a future release.
diff --git a/scripts/test-bifrost.sh b/scripts/test-bifrost.sh
index 32e089104..6ee1ecf0c 100755
--- a/scripts/test-bifrost.sh
+++ b/scripts/test-bifrost.sh
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ USE_VMEDIA=${USE_VMEDIA:-false}
 VM_DOMAIN_TYPE=qemu
 export VM_DISK_CACHE="unsafe"
 TEST_VM_NUM_NODES=1
-USE_CIRROS=true
+DOWNLOAD_CUSTOM_DEPLOY_IMAGE=true
 TESTING_USER=cirros
 TEST_PLAYBOOK="test-bifrost.yaml"
 USE_INSPECTOR=true
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ if which setenforce &> /dev/null; then
     sudo setenforce Enforcing
 fi
 
-if [ ${USE_CIRROS} = "true" ] && [ ! -f "$HOME/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub" ]; then
+if [ ${DOWNLOAD_CUSTOM_DEPLOY_IMAGE} = "true" ] && [ ! -f "$HOME/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub" ]; then
     # CentOS/RHEL 8 and 9, as well as Fedora, do not work with the RSA key
     # that the Cirros' SSH server uses. Generate an ECDSA key pair instead.
     ssh-keygen -t ECDSA -f "$HOME/.ssh/id_ecdsa" -N ""
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ if [ ${USE_DHCP} = "true" ]; then
     WRITE_INTERFACES_FILE=false
     CLOUD_CONFIG+=" -e dhcp_provider=none"
 elif [ ${BUILD_IMAGE} = "true" ]; then
-    USE_CIRROS=false
+    DOWNLOAD_CUSTOM_DEPLOY_IMAGE=false
     TESTING_USER=root
     VM_MEMORY_SIZE="4096"
     ENABLE_INSPECTOR=false
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ elif [ ${ENABLE_KEYSTONE} = "true" ]; then
     CLOUD_CONFIG+=" -e cloud_name=bifrost"
 fi
 
-REDEPLOY_NODES=$USE_CIRROS
+REDEPLOY_NODES=$DOWNLOAD_CUSTOM_DEPLOY_IMAGE
 
 if [[ -n "$BOOT_MODE" ]]; then
     CLOUD_CONFIG+=" -e default_boot_mode=$BOOT_MODE"
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ ${ANSIBLE} -vvvv \
     -i inventory/bifrost_inventory.py \
     -i inventory/target \
     ${TEST_PLAYBOOK} \
-    -e use_cirros=${USE_CIRROS} \
+    -e download_custom_deploy_image=${DOWNLOAD_CUSTOM_DEPLOY_IMAGE} \
     -e use_tinyipa=true \
     -e testing_user=${TESTING_USER} \
     -e test_vm_num_nodes=${TEST_VM_NUM_NODES} \
diff --git a/tools/vagrant_dev_env/vagrant.yml b/tools/vagrant_dev_env/vagrant.yml
index bda7b2185..457444b2e 100644
--- a/tools/vagrant_dev_env/vagrant.yml
+++ b/tools/vagrant_dev_env/vagrant.yml
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@
       become: yes
 
     - name: Install Bifrost
-      command: ${VENV}/bin/ansible-playbook -vvvv -i inventory/target install.yaml -e network_interface={{network_interface}} -e ansible_python_interpreter="/usr/bin/python3" -e download_ipa=true -e use_cirros=true
+      command: ${VENV}/bin/ansible-playbook -vvvv -i inventory/target install.yaml -e network_interface={{network_interface}} -e ansible_python_interpreter="/usr/bin/python3" -e download_ipa=true -e download_custom_deploy_image=true
       environment:
           PATH: "{{ansible_env.HOME}}/.local/bin:{{ansible_env.PATH}}"
           VENV: "/opt/stack/bifrost"