diff --git a/lisp/org-ctags.el b/lisp/org-ctags.el
index d58304850..c7239a200 100644
--- a/lisp/org-ctags.el
+++ b/lisp/org-ctags.el
@@ -156,7 +156,9 @@ Format is: /REGEXP/TAGNAME/FLAGS,TAGTYPE/
 See the ctags documentation for more information.")
 
 (defcustom org-ctags-path-to-ctags
-  (if (executable-find "ctags-exuberant") "ctags-exuberant" "ctags")
+  (if (executable-find "ctags-exuberant")
+      "ctags-exuberant"
+    ctags-program-name)
   "Name of the ctags executable file."
   :version "24.1"
   :type 'file)