diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 83e3070ff..3c6759335 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1073,7 +1073,7 @@ AC_HELP_STRING([--disable-ares],[Disable ares for name lookups]),
        HAVE_ARES="1"
        AC_SUBST(HAVE_ARES)
 
-       LIBS="$LIBS -lares"
+       LIBS="$LIBS -lcares"
 
        dnl For backwards compatibility default to includes/lib in srcdir/ares
        dnl If a value is specified it is assumed that the libs are in $val/lib