diff --git a/ident.c b/ident.c
index 87c697c2b0..5df094d175 100644
--- a/ident.c
+++ b/ident.c
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ int split_ident_line(struct ident_split *split, const char *line, int len)
 	if (!split->mail_begin)
 		return status;
 
-	for (cp = split->mail_begin - 2; line < cp; cp--)
+	for (cp = split->mail_begin - 2; line <= cp; cp--)
 		if (!isspace(*cp)) {
 			split->name_end = cp + 1;
 			break;
diff --git a/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh b/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
index a01d244502..f94f0c48e6 100755
--- a/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
+++ b/t/t6006-rev-list-format.sh
@@ -283,4 +283,11 @@ test_expect_success 'oneline with empty message' '
 	test_line_count = 5 testg.txt
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'single-character name is parsed correctly' '
+	git commit --author="a <a@example.com>" --allow-empty -m foo &&
+	echo "a <a@example.com>" >expect &&
+	git log -1 --format="%an <%ae>" >actual &&
+	test_cmp expect actual
+'
+
 test_done