diff --git a/Changelog.md b/Changelog.md
index b3b91a0..9905c29 100644
--- a/Changelog.md
+++ b/Changelog.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 - `PSQL_SSLMODE` config parameter renamed to `REPLICATION_SSLMODE`
 - defined `/etc/postgresql/certs` as the mountpoint to install SSL key and certificate
 - added `PG_SSL` parameter to enable/disable SSL support
+- `DB_LOCALE` config parameter renamed to `PG_LOCALE`
 
 **9.4-2**
 - added replication options
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 294d867..b88004b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ docker run --name postgresql -d \
 
 will create a user *dbuser* with the password *dbpass*. It will also create a database named *dbname* and the *dbuser* user will have full access to the *dbname* database.
 
-The `DB_LOCALE` environment variable can be used to configure the locale used for database creation. Its default value is set to C.
+The `PG_LOCALE` environment variable can be used to configure the locale used for database creation. Its default value is set to C.
 
 The `PG_TRUST_LOCALNET` environment variable can be used to configure postgres to trust connections on the same network.  This is handy for other containers to connect without authentication. To enable this behavior, set `PG_TRUST_LOCALNET` to `true`.
 
diff --git a/runtime/env-defaults b/runtime/env-defaults
index 4b1eb4c..3cf29fa 100644
--- a/runtime/env-defaults
+++ b/runtime/env-defaults
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 PG_SSL=${PG_SSL:-}
 
+PG_LOCALE=${PG_LOCALE:-$DB_LOCALE} # backward compatibility
+PG_LOCALE=${PG_LOCALE:-C}
+
 PG_TRUST_LOCALNET=${PG_TRUST_LOCALNET:-$PSQL_TRUST_LOCALNET} # backward compatibility
 PG_TRUST_LOCALNET=${PG_TRUST_LOCALNET:-false}
 
@@ -17,5 +20,4 @@ DB_NAME=${DB_NAME:-}
 DB_USER=${DB_USER:-}
 DB_PASS=${DB_PASS:-}
 
-DB_LOCALE=${DB_LOCALE:-C}
 DB_UNACCENT=${DB_UNACCENT:-false}
diff --git a/runtime/functions b/runtime/functions
index c071280..42b8157 100755
--- a/runtime/functions
+++ b/runtime/functions
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ map_uidgid() {
 }
 
 locale_gen() {
-  if [[ $DB_LOCALE != C ]]; then
-    echo "Generating locale \"${DB_LOCALE}\"..."
-    locale-gen ${DB_LOCALE} >/dev/null
+  if [[ $PG_LOCALE != C ]]; then
+    echo "Generating locale \"${PG_LOCALE}\"..."
+    locale-gen ${PG_LOCALE} >/dev/null
   fi
 }
 
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ initialize_database() {
         fi
 
         exec_as_postgres ${PG_BINDIR}/initdb --pgdata=${PG_DATADIR} \
-          --username=${PG_USER} --encoding=unicode --locale=${DB_LOCALE} --auth=trust >/dev/null
+          --username=${PG_USER} --encoding=unicode --locale=${PG_LOCALE} --auth=trust >/dev/null
 
         if [[ -n ${PG_OLD_VERSION} ]]; then
           PG_OLD_BINDIR=/usr/lib/postgresql/${PG_OLD_VERSION}/bin