diff --git a/lisp/vc/vc-git.el b/lisp/vc/vc-git.el
index 5d564f3c94..47c9082368 100644
--- a/lisp/vc/vc-git.el
+++ b/lisp/vc/vc-git.el
@@ -2030,14 +2030,17 @@ vc-git--run-command-string
                     (setq ok nil))))))
     (and ok str)))
 
-(defun vc-git-symbolic-commit (commit)
+(defun vc-git-symbolic-commit (commit &optional force)
   "Translate COMMIT string into symbolic form.
-Returns nil if not possible."
+Returns nil if not possible.  If the optional argument FORCE is
+non-nil, revisions containing positional
+arguments (e.g. \"master~8\") will also be accepted."
   (and commit
        (let ((name (with-temp-buffer
                      (and
                       (vc-git--out-ok "name-rev" "--name-only" commit)
                       (goto-char (point-min))
+                      (or force (not (looking-at "^.*[~^].*$" t)))
                       (= (forward-line 2) 1)
                       (bolp)
                       (buffer-substring-no-properties (point-min)