diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index 314d8ee740..ec7af5f0ae 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -963,7 +963,7 @@ static int git_default_push_config(const char *var, const char *value)
 static int git_default_mailmap_config(const char *var, const char *value)
 {
 	if (!strcmp(var, "mailmap.file"))
-		return git_config_string(&git_mailmap_file, var, value);
+		return git_config_pathname(&git_mailmap_file, var, value);
 	if (!strcmp(var, "mailmap.blob"))
 		return git_config_string(&git_mailmap_blob, var, value);