diff --git a/abspath.c b/abspath.c
index ff140689ed..3005aedde6 100644
--- a/abspath.c
+++ b/abspath.c
@@ -14,7 +14,14 @@ int is_directory(const char *path)
 /* We allow "recursive" symbolic links. Only within reason, though. */
 #define MAXDEPTH 5
 
-const char *make_absolute_path(const char *path)
+/*
+ * Use this to get the real path, i.e. resolve links. If you want an
+ * absolute path but don't mind links, use absolute_path.
+ *
+ * If path is our buffer, then return path, as it's already what the
+ * user wants.
+ */
+const char *real_path(const char *path)
 {
 	static char bufs[2][PATH_MAX + 1], *buf = bufs[0], *next_buf = bufs[1];
 	char cwd[1024] = "";
@@ -104,7 +111,14 @@ static const char *get_pwd_cwd(void)
 	return cwd;
 }
 
-const char *make_nonrelative_path(const char *path)
+/*
+ * Use this to get an absolute path from a relative one. If you want
+ * to resolve links, you should use real_path.
+ *
+ * If the path is already absolute, then return path. As the user is
+ * never meant to free the return value, we're safe.
+ */
+const char *absolute_path(const char *path)
 {
 	static char buf[PATH_MAX + 1];
 
diff --git a/builtin/clone.c b/builtin/clone.c
index 2ee1fa9846..404f589680 100644
--- a/builtin/clone.c
+++ b/builtin/clone.c
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ static char *get_repo_path(const char *repo, int *is_bundle)
 		path = mkpath("%s%s", repo, suffix[i]);
 		if (is_directory(path)) {
 			*is_bundle = 0;
-			return xstrdup(make_nonrelative_path(path));
+			return xstrdup(absolute_path(path));
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ static char *get_repo_path(const char *repo, int *is_bundle)
 		path = mkpath("%s%s", repo, bundle_suffix[i]);
 		if (!stat(path, &st) && S_ISREG(st.st_mode)) {
 			*is_bundle = 1;
-			return xstrdup(make_nonrelative_path(path));
+			return xstrdup(absolute_path(path));
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ static void setup_reference(const char *repo)
 	struct transport *transport;
 	const struct ref *extra;
 
-	ref_git = make_absolute_path(option_reference);
+	ref_git = real_path(option_reference);
 
 	if (is_directory(mkpath("%s/.git/objects", ref_git)))
 		ref_git = mkpath("%s/.git", ref_git);
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ int cmd_clone(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	path = get_repo_path(repo_name, &is_bundle);
 	if (path)
-		repo = xstrdup(make_nonrelative_path(repo_name));
+		repo = xstrdup(absolute_path(repo_name));
 	else if (!strchr(repo_name, ':'))
 		die("repository '%s' does not exist", repo_name);
 	else
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ int cmd_clone(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 	if (safe_create_leading_directories_const(git_dir) < 0)
 		die("could not create leading directories of '%s'", git_dir);
-	set_git_dir(make_absolute_path(git_dir));
+	set_git_dir(real_path(git_dir));
 
 	if (0 <= option_verbosity)
 		printf("Cloning into %s%s...\n",
diff --git a/builtin/init-db.c b/builtin/init-db.c
index fbeb380ee2..8f5cfd7122 100644
--- a/builtin/init-db.c
+++ b/builtin/init-db.c
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ int cmd_init_db(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		const char *git_dir_parent = strrchr(git_dir, '/');
 		if (git_dir_parent) {
 			char *rel = xstrndup(git_dir, git_dir_parent - git_dir);
-			git_work_tree_cfg = xstrdup(make_absolute_path(rel));
+			git_work_tree_cfg = xstrdup(real_path(rel));
 			free(rel);
 		}
 		if (!git_work_tree_cfg) {
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ int cmd_init_db(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 				die_errno ("Cannot access current working directory");
 		}
 		if (work_tree)
-			set_git_work_tree(make_absolute_path(work_tree));
+			set_git_work_tree(real_path(work_tree));
 		else
 			set_git_work_tree(git_work_tree_cfg);
 		if (access(get_git_work_tree(), X_OK))
@@ -519,10 +519,10 @@ int cmd_init_db(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	}
 	else {
 		if (work_tree)
-			set_git_work_tree(make_absolute_path(work_tree));
+			set_git_work_tree(real_path(work_tree));
 	}
 
-	set_git_dir(make_absolute_path(git_dir));
+	set_git_dir(real_path(git_dir));
 
 	return init_db(template_dir, flags);
 }
diff --git a/builtin/receive-pack.c b/builtin/receive-pack.c
index 760817dbd7..d883585804 100644
--- a/builtin/receive-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/receive-pack.c
@@ -740,7 +740,7 @@ static int add_refs_from_alternate(struct alternate_object_database *e, void *un
 	const struct ref *extra;
 
 	e->name[-1] = '\0';
-	other = xstrdup(make_absolute_path(e->base));
+	other = xstrdup(real_path(e->base));
 	e->name[-1] = '/';
 	len = strlen(other);
 
diff --git a/cache.h b/cache.h
index cbdeaa1d0d..a99fd560e9 100644
--- a/cache.h
+++ b/cache.h
@@ -731,9 +731,9 @@ static inline int is_absolute_path(const char *path)
 	return path[0] == '/' || has_dos_drive_prefix(path);
 }
 int is_directory(const char *);
-const char *make_absolute_path(const char *path);
-const char *make_nonrelative_path(const char *path);
-const char *make_relative_path(const char *abs, const char *base);
+const char *real_path(const char *path);
+const char *absolute_path(const char *path);
+const char *relative_path(const char *abs, const char *base);
 int normalize_path_copy(char *dst, const char *src);
 int longest_ancestor_length(const char *path, const char *prefix_list);
 char *strip_path_suffix(const char *path, const char *suffix);
diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 168dad6152..325fb56ad3 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -1128,7 +1128,7 @@ char *get_relative_cwd(char *buffer, int size, const char *dir)
 		die_errno("can't find the current directory");
 
 	if (!is_absolute_path(dir))
-		dir = make_absolute_path(dir);
+		dir = real_path(dir);
 
 	while (*dir && *dir == *cwd) {
 		dir++;
diff --git a/environment.c b/environment.c
index c3efbb9608..cc670b1562 100644
--- a/environment.c
+++ b/environment.c
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ static int git_work_tree_initialized;
 void set_git_work_tree(const char *new_work_tree)
 {
 	if (git_work_tree_initialized) {
-		new_work_tree = make_absolute_path(new_work_tree);
+		new_work_tree = real_path(new_work_tree);
 		if (strcmp(new_work_tree, work_tree))
 			die("internal error: work tree has already been set\n"
 			    "Current worktree: %s\nNew worktree: %s",
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ void set_git_work_tree(const char *new_work_tree)
 		return;
 	}
 	git_work_tree_initialized = 1;
-	work_tree = xstrdup(make_absolute_path(new_work_tree));
+	work_tree = xstrdup(real_path(new_work_tree));
 }
 
 const char *get_git_work_tree(void)
diff --git a/exec_cmd.c b/exec_cmd.c
index 38545e8bfd..171e841531 100644
--- a/exec_cmd.c
+++ b/exec_cmd.c
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ static void add_path(struct strbuf *out, const char *path)
 		if (is_absolute_path(path))
 			strbuf_addstr(out, path);
 		else
-			strbuf_addstr(out, make_nonrelative_path(path));
+			strbuf_addstr(out, absolute_path(path));
 
 		strbuf_addch(out, PATH_SEP);
 	}
diff --git a/lockfile.c b/lockfile.c
index b0d74cddde..c6fb77b26f 100644
--- a/lockfile.c
+++ b/lockfile.c
@@ -164,10 +164,10 @@ static char *unable_to_lock_message(const char *path, int err)
 		    "If no other git process is currently running, this probably means a\n"
 		    "git process crashed in this repository earlier. Make sure no other git\n"
 		    "process is running and remove the file manually to continue.",
-			    make_nonrelative_path(path), strerror(err));
+			    absolute_path(path), strerror(err));
 	} else
 		strbuf_addf(&buf, "Unable to create '%s.lock': %s",
-			    make_nonrelative_path(path), strerror(err));
+			    absolute_path(path), strerror(err));
 	return strbuf_detach(&buf, NULL);
 }
 
diff --git a/path.c b/path.c
index 8951333cb8..4d73cc9cd2 100644
--- a/path.c
+++ b/path.c
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ int set_shared_perm(const char *path, int mode)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-const char *make_relative_path(const char *abs, const char *base)
+const char *relative_path(const char *abs, const char *base)
 {
 	static char buf[PATH_MAX + 1];
 	int i = 0, j = 0;
diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index 021d0133ae..03cd84f2fc 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ char *prefix_path(const char *prefix, int len, const char *path)
 	const char *orig = path;
 	char *sanitized;
 	if (is_absolute_path(orig)) {
-		const char *temp = make_absolute_path(path);
+		const char *temp = real_path(path);
 		sanitized = xmalloc(len + strlen(temp) + 1);
 		strcpy(sanitized, temp);
 	} else {
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ void setup_work_tree(void)
 	work_tree = get_git_work_tree();
 	git_dir = get_git_dir();
 	if (!is_absolute_path(git_dir))
-		git_dir = make_absolute_path(git_dir);
+		git_dir = real_path(get_git_dir());
 	if (!work_tree || chdir(work_tree))
 		die("This operation must be run in a work tree");
 
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ void setup_work_tree(void)
 	if (getenv(GIT_WORK_TREE_ENVIRONMENT))
 		setenv(GIT_WORK_TREE_ENVIRONMENT, ".", 1);
 
-	set_git_dir(make_relative_path(git_dir, work_tree));
+	set_git_dir(relative_path(git_dir, work_tree));
 	initialized = 1;
 }
 
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ const char *read_gitfile_gently(const char *path)
 
 	if (!is_git_directory(dir))
 		die("Not a git repository: %s", dir);
-	path = make_absolute_path(dir);
+	path = real_path(dir);
 
 	free(buf);
 	return path;
@@ -392,7 +392,7 @@ static const char *setup_explicit_git_dir(const char *gitdirenv,
 
 	if (!prefixcmp(cwd, worktree) &&
 	    cwd[strlen(worktree)] == '/') { /* cwd inside worktree */
-		set_git_dir(make_absolute_path(gitdirenv));
+		set_git_dir(real_path(gitdirenv));
 		if (chdir(worktree))
 			die_errno("Could not chdir to '%s'", worktree);
 		cwd[len++] = '/';
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ static const char *setup_discovered_git_dir(const char *gitdir,
 	/* --work-tree is set without --git-dir; use discovered one */
 	if (getenv(GIT_WORK_TREE_ENVIRONMENT) || git_work_tree_cfg) {
 		if (offset != len && !is_absolute_path(gitdir))
-			gitdir = xstrdup(make_absolute_path(gitdir));
+			gitdir = xstrdup(real_path(gitdir));
 		if (chdir(cwd))
 			die_errno("Could not come back to cwd");
 		return setup_explicit_git_dir(gitdir, cwd, len, nongit_ok);
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ static const char *setup_discovered_git_dir(const char *gitdir,
 
 	/* #16.2, #17.2, #20.2, #21.2, #24, #25, #28, #29 (see t1510) */
 	if (is_bare_repository_cfg > 0) {
-		set_git_dir(offset == len ? gitdir : make_absolute_path(gitdir));
+		set_git_dir(offset == len ? gitdir : real_path(gitdir));
 		if (chdir(cwd))
 			die_errno("Could not come back to cwd");
 		return NULL;
diff --git a/t/t0000-basic.sh b/t/t0000-basic.sh
index 8deec75c3a..f4e8f43bae 100755
--- a/t/t0000-basic.sh
+++ b/t/t0000-basic.sh
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ test_expect_success 'update-index D/F conflict' '
 	test $numpath0 = 1
 '
 
-test_expect_success SYMLINKS 'absolute path works as expected' '
+test_expect_success SYMLINKS 'real path works as expected' '
 	mkdir first &&
 	ln -s ../.git first/.git &&
 	mkdir second &&
@@ -443,14 +443,14 @@ test_expect_success SYMLINKS 'absolute path works as expected' '
 	mkdir third &&
 	dir="$(cd .git; pwd -P)" &&
 	dir2=third/../second/other/.git &&
-	test "$dir" = "$(test-path-utils make_absolute_path $dir2)" &&
+	test "$dir" = "$(test-path-utils real_path $dir2)" &&
 	file="$dir"/index &&
-	test "$file" = "$(test-path-utils make_absolute_path $dir2/index)" &&
+	test "$file" = "$(test-path-utils real_path $dir2/index)" &&
 	basename=blub &&
-	test "$dir/$basename" = "$(cd .git && test-path-utils make_absolute_path "$basename")" &&
+	test "$dir/$basename" = "$(cd .git && test-path-utils real_path "$basename")" &&
 	ln -s ../first/file .git/syml &&
 	sym="$(cd first; pwd -P)"/file &&
-	test "$sym" = "$(test-path-utils make_absolute_path "$dir2/syml")"
+	test "$sym" = "$(test-path-utils real_path "$dir2/syml")"
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'very long name in the index handled sanely' '
diff --git a/test-path-utils.c b/test-path-utils.c
index d261398d6c..e7671593df 100644
--- a/test-path-utils.c
+++ b/test-path-utils.c
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		return 0;
 	}
 
-	if (argc >= 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "make_absolute_path")) {
+	if (argc >= 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "real_path")) {
 		while (argc > 2) {
-			puts(make_absolute_path(argv[2]));
+			puts(real_path(argv[2]));
 			argc--;
 			argv++;
 		}
diff --git a/wrapper.c b/wrapper.c
index 4c147d6c48..28290002b9 100644
--- a/wrapper.c
+++ b/wrapper.c
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ int xmkstemp(char *template)
 		if (!template[0])
 			template = origtemplate;
 
-		nonrelative_template = make_nonrelative_path(template);
+		nonrelative_template = absolute_path(template);
 		errno = saved_errno;
 		die_errno("Unable to create temporary file '%s'",
 			nonrelative_template);
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ int xmkstemp_mode(char *template, int mode)
 		if (!template[0])
 			template = origtemplate;
 
-		nonrelative_template = make_nonrelative_path(template);
+		nonrelative_template = absolute_path(template);
 		errno = saved_errno;
 		die_errno("Unable to create temporary file '%s'",
 			nonrelative_template);