diff --git a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
index 46c3365c..53e0bf4f 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
@@ -212,8 +212,11 @@ module Jekyll
       if config.has_key? 'pygments'
         Jekyll.logger.warn "Deprecation:", "The 'pygments' configuration option" +
                             " has been renamed to 'highlighter'. Please update your" +
-                            " config file accordingly. The allowed values are 'rouge"+
+                            " config file accordingly. The allowed values are 'rouge', " +
                             "'pygments' or null"
+
+        config['highlighter'] = 'pygments' if config['pygments']
+        config.delete('pygments')
       end
 
       %w[include exclude].each do |option|
diff --git a/test/test_configuration.rb b/test/test_configuration.rb
index d911b779..36e6cb1d 100644
--- a/test/test_configuration.rb
+++ b/test/test_configuration.rb
@@ -51,11 +51,12 @@ class TestConfiguration < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "#backwards_compatibilize" do
     setup do
       @config = Configuration[{
-        "auto"    => true,
-        "watch"   => true,
-        "server"  => true,
-        "exclude" => "READ-ME.md, Gemfile,CONTRIBUTING.hello.markdown",
-        "include" => "STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt,.heloses, .git"
+        "auto"     => true,
+        "watch"    => true,
+        "server"   => true,
+        "exclude"  => "READ-ME.md, Gemfile,CONTRIBUTING.hello.markdown",
+        "include"  => "STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt,.heloses, .git",
+        "pygments" => true,
       }]
     end
     should "unset 'auto' and 'watch'" do
@@ -78,6 +79,11 @@ class TestConfiguration < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert @config.backwards_compatibilize.has_key?("include")
       assert_equal @config.backwards_compatibilize["include"], %w[STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt .heloses .git]
     end
+    should "set highlighter to pygments" do
+      assert @config.has_key?("pygments")
+      assert !@config.backwards_compatibilize.has_key?("pygments")
+      assert_equal @config.backwards_compatibilize["highlighter"], "pygments"
+    end
   end
   context "#fix_common_issues" do
     setup do