diff --git a/lib/linguist/blob_helper.rb b/lib/linguist/blob_helper.rb
index 5fab5686..ac6b7f8a 100644
--- a/lib/linguist/blob_helper.rb
+++ b/lib/linguist/blob_helper.rb
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ module Linguist
         if lang = Shebangs[script]
           lang
         else
-          lang = Language.find_by_lexer(script)
+          lang = Language[script]
           lang != Language['Text'] ? lang : nil
         end
       end
diff --git a/lib/linguist/language.rb b/lib/linguist/language.rb
index 8b52abb6..e0d7ff61 100644
--- a/lib/linguist/language.rb
+++ b/lib/linguist/language.rb
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ module Linguist
   class Language
     @languages       = []
     @name_index      = {}
+    @alias_index     = {}
     @lexer_index     = {}
     @extension_index = {}
 
@@ -27,6 +28,16 @@ module Linguist
       # Case-insensitive language name index
       @name_index[language.name.downcase] = language
 
+      language.aliases.each do |name|
+        # All Language aliases should be unique. Warn if there is a duplicate.
+        if @alias_index.key?(name)
+          warn "Duplicate alias: #{name}"
+        end
+
+        @alias_index[name] = language
+      end
+
+
       # Set langauge as the default for reverse lexer lookup if
       # :default_lexer is set or the language is the same name as its
       # lexer.
@@ -75,6 +86,20 @@ module Linguist
       @name_index[name.downcase]
     end
 
+    # Public: Look up Language by one of its aliases.
+    #
+    # name - A case-sensitive String alias of the Language
+    #
+    # Examples
+    #
+    #   Language.find_by_alias('cpp')
+    #   # => #<Language name="C++">
+    #
+    # Returns the Lexer or nil if none was found.
+    def self.find_by_alias(name)
+      @alias_index[name.downcase]
+    end
+
     # Public: Look up Language by extension.
     #
     # extension - The extension String. May include leading "."
@@ -89,23 +114,6 @@ module Linguist
       @extension_index[extension]
     end
 
-    # Deprecated: Look up Language by its lexer.
-    #
-    # The use of this method is discouraged since multiple languages
-    # may have the same lexer name.
-    #
-    # name - The case-insensitive String lexer of the Language
-    #
-    # Examples
-    #
-    #   Language.find_by_lexer('cpp')
-    #   # => #<Language name="C++">
-    #
-    # Returns the Language or Language['Text'] if none was found.
-    def self.find_by_lexer(lexer)
-      @lexer_index[lexer.downcase] || self['Text']
-    end
-
     # Public: Look up Language by its name or lexer.
     #
     # name - The case-insensitive String name of the Language
@@ -120,7 +128,7 @@ module Linguist
     #
     # Returns the Language or nil if none was found.
     def self.[](name)
-      find_by_name(name) || find_by_lexer(name)
+      find_by_name(name) || find_by_alias(name) || self['Text']
     end
 
     # Public: A List of popular languages
@@ -154,8 +162,11 @@ module Linguist
       # @name is required
       @name = attributes[:name] || raise(ArgumentError, "missing name")
 
+      # Set aliases
+      @aliases = [default_alias_name] + (attributes[:aliases] || [])
+
       # Use :lexer_name or fallback to `@name.downcase`
-      @lexer_name = attributes[:lexer_name] || default_lexer_name
+      @lexer_name = attributes[:lexer_name] || default_alias_name
 
       # Lookup Lexer object
       @lexer = Lexer.find_by_alias(@lexer_name)
@@ -180,6 +191,16 @@ module Linguist
     # Returns the name String
     attr_reader :name
 
+    # Public: Get aliases
+    #
+    # Examples
+    #
+    #   Language['C++'].aliases
+    #   # => ["cpp"]
+    #
+    # Returns an Array of String names
+    attr_reader :aliases
+
     # Deprecated: Get lexer name
     #
     # Examples
@@ -205,10 +226,10 @@ module Linguist
     # Returns the extensions Array
     attr_reader :extensions
 
-    # Internal: Get default lexer name
+    # Internal: Get default alias name
     #
-    # Returns the lexer name String
-    def default_lexer_name
+    # Returns the alias name String
+    def default_alias_name
       name.downcase.gsub(/\s/, '-')
     end
 
@@ -216,7 +237,7 @@ module Linguist
     #
     # Returns true or false
     def default_lexer?
-      lexer_name == default_lexer_name
+      lexer_name == default_alias_name
     end
 
     def search_term
@@ -286,12 +307,13 @@ module Linguist
 
   YAML.load_file(File.expand_path("../languages.yml", __FILE__)).each do |name, options|
     Language.create(
-      :name => name,
+      :name    => name,
+      :aliases => options[:aliases],
       :lexer_name => options[:lexer],
       :default_lexer => options[:default_lexer],
       :extensions => options[:ext],
-      :popular => popular.include?(name),
-      :common => common.include?(name)
+      :popular    => popular.include?(name),
+      :common     => common.include?(name)
     )
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/linguist/languages.yml b/lib/linguist/languages.yml
index 35491383..9615ffbb 100644
--- a/lib/linguist/languages.yml
+++ b/lib/linguist/languages.yml
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 # Defines all Lanaguges known to GitHub
 #
-# lexer - An explicit lexer String (defaults to name.downcase)
-# ext   - An Array of associated extensions
+# lexer   - An explicit lexer String (defaults to name.downcase)
+# aliases - An Array of additional aliases (implicitly includes name.downcase)
+# ext     - An Array of associated extensions
 
 ASP:
   :lexer: aspx-vb
+  :aliases:
+  - aspx
+  - aspx-vb
   :ext:
   - .ascx
   - .axd
@@ -15,6 +19,8 @@ ASP:
   - .asp
 ActionScript:
   :lexer: as3
+  :aliases:
+  - as3
   :ext:
   - .as
 Ada:
@@ -29,10 +35,14 @@ Arc:
   - .arc
 Assembly:
   :lexer: nasm
+  :aliases:
+  - nasm
   :ext:
   - .asm
 Batchfile:
   :lexer: bat
+  :aliases:
+  - bat
   :ext:
   - .bat
   - .cmd
@@ -55,10 +65,14 @@ C:
   - .h
 C#:
   :lexer: csharp
+  :aliases:
+  - csharp
   :ext:
   - .cs
 C++:
   :lexer: cpp
+  :aliases:
+  - cpp
   :ext:
   - .cpp
   - .hh
@@ -85,10 +99,14 @@ CoffeeScript:
   - Cakefile
 ColdFusion:
   :lexer: cfm
+  :aliases:
+  - cfm
   :ext:
   - .cfm
   - .cfc
 Common Lisp:
+  :aliases:
+  - lisp
   :ext:
   - .cl
   - .lisp
@@ -107,6 +125,8 @@ D:
   - .di
 Darcs Patch:
   :lexer: dpatch
+  :aliases:
+  - dpatch
   :ext:
   - .darcspatch
   - .dpatch
@@ -128,6 +148,8 @@ Eiffel:
   - .e
 Emacs Lisp:
   :lexer: scheme
+  :aliases:
+  - elisp
   :ext:
   - .el
   - .emacs
@@ -167,6 +189,8 @@ Gentoo Eclass:
   - .eclass
 Gettext Catalog:
   :lexer: pot
+  :aliases:
+  - pot
   :ext:
   - .po
   - .pot
@@ -212,6 +236,8 @@ INI:
   - .properties
 IRC log:
   :lexer: irc
+  :aliases:
+  - irc
   :ext:
   - .weechatlog
 Io:
@@ -226,6 +252,8 @@ Groovy:
   :ext:
   - .groovy
 JavaScript:
+  :aliases:
+  - js
   :ext:
   - .js
   - .sjs
@@ -240,6 +268,8 @@ JSON:
   - .json
 Literate Haskell:
   :lexer: lhs
+  :aliases:
+  - lhs
   :ext:
   - .lhs
 LLVM:
@@ -326,6 +356,8 @@ PHP:
   - .php5
 Parrot Internal Representation:
   :lexer: pir
+  :aliases:
+  - pir
   :ext:
   - .pir
   - .pbc
@@ -349,6 +381,8 @@ Python:
   - .pyw
 Python traceback:
   :lexer: pytb
+  :aliases:
+  - pytb
   :ext:
   - .pytb
 R:
@@ -365,6 +399,8 @@ RHTML:
   - .rhtml
 Raw token data:
   :lexer: raw
+  :aliases:
+  - raw
   :ext:
   - .raw
 Rebol:
@@ -412,6 +448,10 @@ Self:
 Shell:
   :lexer: bash
   :default_lexer: true
+  :aliases:
+  - sh
+  - bash
+  - zsh
   :ext:
   - .sh
   - .zsh
@@ -457,6 +497,8 @@ Verilog:
   - .v
 VimL:
   :lexer: vim
+  :aliases:
+  - vim
   :ext:
   - .vim
   - .vimrc
@@ -493,6 +535,8 @@ YAML:
   - .yaml
 Java Server Pages:
   :lexer: jsp
+  :aliases:
+  - jsp
   :ext:
   - .jsp
 mupad:
@@ -503,6 +547,8 @@ ooc:
   - .ooc
 reStructuredText:
   :lexer: rst
+  :aliases:
+  - rst
   :ext:
   - .rst
   - .rest
diff --git a/lib/linguist/shebangs.yml b/lib/linguist/shebangs.yml
index fe19e27d..e45ba91f 100644
--- a/lib/linguist/shebangs.yml
+++ b/lib/linguist/shebangs.yml
@@ -17,9 +17,3 @@ JavaScript:
 Ruby:
 - macruby
 - rake
-
-# Other shells
-Shell:
-- bash
-- sh
-- zsh
diff --git a/test/test_language.rb b/test/test_language.rb
index 3dd86788..933566b3 100644
--- a/test/test_language.rb
+++ b/test/test_language.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,82 @@ class TestLanguage < Test::Unit::TestCase
   def test_find_all_by_name
     Language.all.each do |language|
       assert_equal language, Language.find_by_name(language.name)
+      assert_equal language, Language[language.name]
+    end
+  end
+
+  def test_find_by_alias
+    assert_equal Language['Perl'],      Language.find_by_alias('perl')
+    assert_equal Language['Python'],    Language.find_by_alias('python')
+    assert_equal Language['Ruby'],      Language.find_by_alias('ruby')
+    assert_equal Language['HTML+ERB'],  Language.find_by_alias('html+erb')
+    assert_equal Language['Max/MSP'],   Language.find_by_alias('max/msp')
+    assert_equal Language['Pure Data'], Language.find_by_alias('pure-data')
+
+    assert_equal Language['ASP'],          Language.find_by_alias('asp')
+    assert_equal Language['ASP'],          Language.find_by_alias('aspx')
+    assert_equal Language['ASP'],          Language.find_by_alias('aspx-vb')
+    assert_equal Language['ActionScript'], Language.find_by_alias('as3')
+    assert_equal Language['Assembly'],     Language.find_by_alias('nasm')
+    assert_equal Language['Batchfile'],    Language.find_by_alias('bat')
+
+    assert_equal Language['C++'], Language.find_by_alias('c++')
+    assert_equal Language['C++'], Language.find_by_alias('cpp')
+    assert_equal Language['C#'],  Language.find_by_alias('c#')
+    assert_equal Language['C#'],  Language.find_by_alias('csharp')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Java'],              Language.find_by_alias('java')
+    assert_equal Language['ChucK'],             Language.find_by_alias('chuck')
+    assert_equal Language['Groovy'],            Language.find_by_alias('groovy')
+    assert_equal Language['Java Server Pages'], Language.find_by_alias('jsp')
+
+    assert_equal Language['ColdFusion'],  Language.find_by_alias('cfm')
+    assert_equal Language['Darcs Patch'], Language.find_by_alias('dpatch')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Common Lisp'], Language.find_by_alias('common-lisp')
+    assert_equal Language['Common Lisp'], Language.find_by_alias('lisp')
+    assert_equal Language['Emacs Lisp'],  Language.find_by_alias('emacs-lisp')
+    assert_equal Language['Emacs Lisp'],  Language.find_by_alias('elisp')
+    assert_equal Language['Nu'],          Language.find_by_alias('nu')
+    assert_equal Language['Scheme'],      Language.find_by_alias('scheme')
+
+    assert_equal Language['OCaml'],           Language.find_by_alias('ocaml')
+    assert_equal Language['F#'],              Language.find_by_alias('f#')
+    assert_equal Language['Gettext Catalog'], Language.find_by_alias('pot')
+    assert_equal Language['IRC log'],         Language.find_by_alias('irc')
+
+    assert_equal Language['JavaScript'], Language.find_by_alias('javascript')
+    assert_equal Language['JavaScript'], Language.find_by_alias('js')
+    assert_equal Language['JSON'],       Language.find_by_alias('json')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Haskell'],          Language.find_by_alias('haskell')
+    assert_equal Language['Literate Haskell'], Language.find_by_alias('literate-haskell')
+    assert_equal Language['Literate Haskell'], Language.find_by_alias('lhs')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Parrot Internal Representation'], Language.find_by_alias('pir')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Python traceback'], Language.find_by_alias('pytb')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Raw token data'],   Language.find_by_alias('raw')
+    assert_equal Language['reStructuredText'], Language.find_by_alias('rst')
+
+    assert_equal Language['Shell'], Language.find_by_alias('shell')
+    assert_equal Language['Shell'], Language.find_by_alias('sh')
+    assert_equal Language['Shell'], Language.find_by_alias('bash')
+    assert_equal Language['Shell'], Language.find_by_alias('zsh')
+
+    assert_equal Language['VimL'], Language.find_by_alias('viml')
+    assert_equal Language['VimL'], Language.find_by_alias('vim')
+
+    assert_equal Language['XS'], Language.find_by_alias('xs')
+  end
+
+  def test_find_all_by_alias
+    Language.all.each do |language|
+      language.aliases.each do |name|
+        assert_equal language, Language.find_by_alias(name)
+        assert_equal language, Language[name]
+      end
     end
   end
 
@@ -32,20 +108,6 @@ class TestLanguage < Test::Unit::TestCase
     end
   end
 
-  def test_find_by_lexer
-    assert_equal Language['C'], Language.find_by_lexer('c')
-    assert_equal Language['C++'], Language.find_by_lexer('cpp')
-    assert_equal Language['Java'], Language.find_by_lexer('java')
-    assert_equal Language['JavaScript'], Language.find_by_lexer('javascript')
-    assert_equal Language['OCaml'], Language.find_by_lexer('ocaml')
-    assert_equal Language['Perl'], Language.find_by_lexer('perl')
-    assert_equal Language['Python'], Language.find_by_lexer('python')
-    assert_equal Language['Ruby'], Language.find_by_lexer('ruby')
-    assert_equal Language['Scheme'], Language.find_by_lexer('scheme')
-    assert_equal Language['Shell'], Language.find_by_lexer('bash')
-    assert_equal Language['Text'], Language.find_by_lexer('kt')
-  end
-
   def test_find
     assert_equal "Ruby", Language['Ruby'].name
     assert_equal "Ruby", Language['ruby'].name