diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
index 9c83a6523a..d4225261a7 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formula.rb
@@ -390,44 +390,8 @@ class Formula
     Dir["#{HOMEBREW_LIBRARY}/Aliases/*"].map{ |f| File.basename f }.sort
   end
 
-  # TODO - document what this returns and why
   def self.canonical_name name
-    # if name includes a '/', it may be a tap reference, path, or URL
-    if name.include? "/"
-      if name =~ %r{(.+)/(.+)/(.+)}
-        tap_name = "#$1-#$2".downcase
-        tapd = Pathname.new("#{HOMEBREW_LIBRARY}/Taps/#{tap_name}")
-
-        if tapd.directory?
-          tapd.find_formula do |relative_pathname|
-            return "#{tapd}/#{relative_pathname}" if relative_pathname.stem.to_s == $3
-          end
-        end
-      end
-      # Otherwise don't resolve paths or URLs
-      return name
-    end
-
-    # test if the name is a core formula
-    formula_with_that_name = Formula.path(name)
-    if formula_with_that_name.file? and formula_with_that_name.readable?
-      return name
-    end
-
-    # test if the name is a formula alias
-    possible_alias = Pathname.new("#{HOMEBREW_LIBRARY}/Aliases/#{name}")
-    if possible_alias.file?
-      return possible_alias.resolved_path.basename(".rb").to_s
-    end
-
-    # test if the name is a cached downloaded formula
-    possible_cached_formula = Pathname.new("#{HOMEBREW_CACHE_FORMULA}/#{name}.rb")
-    if possible_cached_formula.file?
-      return possible_cached_formula.to_s
-    end
-
-    # dunno, pass through the name
-    return name
+    Formulary.canonical_name(name)
   end
 
   def self.[](name)
diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/formulary.rb b/Library/Homebrew/formulary.rb
index c2f415628b..710cd151d7 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/formulary.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/formulary.rb
@@ -178,6 +178,10 @@ class Formulary
     loader_for(ref).get_formula
   end
 
+  def self.canonical_name(ref)
+    loader_for(ref).name
+  end
+
   def self.loader_for(ref)
     case ref
     when %r[(https?|ftp)://]