diff --git a/basename.c b/basename.c
index 63e7b7b..aa66f4a 100644
--- a/basename.c
+++ b/basename.c
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
 	ssize_t off;
 	size_t slen;
-	char *p;
+	char *p = "";
 
 	ARGBEGIN {
 	default:
@@ -26,7 +26,8 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (argc != 1 && argc != 2)
 		usage();
 
-	p = basename(argv[0]);
+	if (argv[0][0])
+		p = basename(argv[0]);
 	if (argc == 2 && (slen = strlen(argv[1])) > 0) {
 		off = strlen(p) - slen;
 		if (off > 0 && !strcmp(p + off, argv[1]))