diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index 68783f4cfd..904165e0ba 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -361,6 +361,7 @@ answer newbie questions, and generally made Django that much better:
     Hang Park <hangpark@kaist.ac.kr>
     Hannes Ljungberg <hannes.ljungberg@gmail.com>
     Hannes Struß <x@hannesstruss.de>
+    Harm Geerts <hgeerts@gmail.com>
     Hasan Ramezani <hasan.r67@gmail.com>
     Hawkeye
     Helen Sherwood-Taylor <helen@rrdlabs.co.uk>
diff --git a/django/test/utils.py b/django/test/utils.py
index 4f4ce99967..4963d2185a 100644
--- a/django/test/utils.py
+++ b/django/test/utils.py
@@ -280,9 +280,14 @@ def get_unique_databases_and_mirrors(aliases=None):
             # we only need to create the test database once.
             item = test_databases.setdefault(
                 connection.creation.test_db_signature(),
-                (connection.settings_dict['NAME'], set())
+                (connection.settings_dict['NAME'], []),
             )
-            item[1].add(alias)
+            # The default database must be the first because data migrations
+            # use the default alias by default.
+            if alias == DEFAULT_DB_ALIAS:
+                item[1].insert(0, alias)
+            else:
+                item[1].append(alias)
 
             if 'DEPENDENCIES' in test_settings:
                 dependencies[alias] = test_settings['DEPENDENCIES']
diff --git a/tests/test_runner/tests.py b/tests/test_runner/tests.py
index 07c7836708..87d432a2ab 100644
--- a/tests/test_runner/tests.py
+++ b/tests/test_runner/tests.py
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ from django.core.management.base import SystemCheckError
 from django.test import TransactionTestCase, skipUnlessDBFeature
 from django.test.runner import DiscoverRunner
 from django.test.testcases import connections_support_transactions
-from django.test.utils import captured_stderr, dependency_ordered
+from django.test.utils import (
+    captured_stderr, dependency_ordered, get_unique_databases_and_mirrors,
+)
 
 from .models import B, Person, Through
 
@@ -336,6 +338,33 @@ class SetupDatabasesTests(unittest.TestCase):
                 self.runner_instance.teardown_databases(old_config)
         mocked_db_creation.return_value.destroy_test_db.assert_called_once_with('dbname', 0, False)
 
+    def test_setup_test_database_aliases(self):
+        """
+        The default database must be the first because data migrations
+        use the default alias by default.
+        """
+        tested_connections = db.ConnectionHandler({
+            'other': {
+                'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.dummy',
+                'NAME': 'dbname',
+            },
+            'default': {
+                'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.dummy',
+                'NAME': 'dbname',
+            }
+        })
+        with mock.patch('django.test.utils.connections', new=tested_connections):
+            test_databases, _ = get_unique_databases_and_mirrors()
+            self.assertEqual(
+                test_databases,
+                {
+                    ('', '', 'django.db.backends.dummy', 'test_dbname'): (
+                        'dbname',
+                        ['default', 'other'],
+                    ),
+                },
+            )
+
     def test_destroy_test_db_restores_db_name(self):
         tested_connections = db.ConnectionHandler({
             'default': {