diff --git a/configure b/configure
index a373f2bc..e78370ab 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ ARPING=
 IPV4LL=
 INET6=
 PRIVSEP=
+PRIVSEP_USER=_dhcpcd
 ARC4RANDOM=
 CLOSEFROM=
 RBTREE=
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ for x do
 	--enable-auth) AUTH=yes;;
 	--disable-privsep) PRIVSEP=no;;
 	--enable-privsep) PRIVSEP=yes;;
+	--privsepuser) PRIVSEP_USER=$var;;
 	--prefix) PREFIX=$var;;
 	--sysconfdir) SYSCONFDIR=$var;;
 	--bindir|--sbindir) SBINDIR=$var;;
@@ -538,6 +540,9 @@ fi
 if [ "$PRIVSEP" = yes ]; then
 	echo "Enabling Priviledge Separation"
 	echo "CPPFLAGS+=	-DPRIVSEP" >>$CONFIG_MK
+	echo "#ifndef PRIVSEP_USER" >>$CONFIG_H
+	echo "#define PRIVSEP_USER		 \"$PRIVSEP_USER\"" >>$CONFIG_H
+	echo "#endif" >>$CONFIG_H
 	echo "DHCPCD_SRCS+=	privsep.c privsep-root.c privsep-inet.c" \
 		>>$CONFIG_MK
 	if [ -z "$INET" ] || [ "$INET" = yes ]; then
@@ -573,6 +578,7 @@ if $XCC _test.c -o _test >/dev/null 2>&3; then
 fi
 rm -f _test.c _test
 if ! $_CC; then
+	echo $XCC
 	echo "$CC does not create executables" >&2
 	exit 1
 fi
@@ -1685,6 +1691,9 @@ echo "   DATADIR =		$DATADIR"
 echo "   HOOKSCRIPTS =	$HOOKS"
 echo "   EGHOOKSCRIPTS =	$EGHOOKS"
 echo "   STATUSARG = 		$STATUSARG"
+if [ "$PRIVSEP" = yes ]; then
+	echo "   PRIVSEPUSER =	$PRIVSEP_USER"
+fi
 echo
 
 rm -f dhcpcd tests/test
diff --git a/src/defs.h b/src/defs.h
index 2173d80a..c2c696f7 100644
--- a/src/defs.h
+++ b/src/defs.h
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@
 #define PACKAGE			"dhcpcd"
 #define VERSION			"8.99.0"
 
-#ifndef DHCPCD_USER
-# define DHCPCD_USER		"_" PACKAGE
+#ifndef PRIVSEP_USER
+# define PRIVSEP_USER		"_" PACKAGE
 #endif
 
 #ifndef CONFIG
diff --git a/src/privsep.c b/src/privsep.c
index ed97723a..b1b06971 100644
--- a/src/privsep.c
+++ b/src/privsep.c
@@ -82,11 +82,11 @@ ps_dostart(struct dhcpcd_ctx *ctx,
 	/* Even if we're not dropping privs, we need to ensure that the unpriv
 	 * user exists so the processes that do need it startup just fine. */
 	errno = 0;
-	if ((pw = getpwnam(DHCPCD_USER)) == NULL) {
+	if ((pw = getpwnam(PRIVSEP_USER)) == NULL) {
 		ctx->options &= ~DHCPCD_PRIVSEP;
 		if (errno == 0) {
 			if (ctx == recv_ctx) /* Only log the once. */
-				logerrx("no such user %s", DHCPCD_USER);
+				logerrx("no such user %s", PRIVSEP_USER);
 		} else
 			logerr("getpwnam");
 		return -1;