diff --git a/m4/openvswitch.m4 b/m4/openvswitch.m4
index 78082d4e0..3f301b23b 100644
--- a/m4/openvswitch.m4
+++ b/m4/openvswitch.m4
@@ -356,7 +356,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([OVS_CHECK_PYTHON],
         ovs_cv_python=$PYTHON
       else
         ovs_cv_python=no
-        for binary in python python2.7; do
+        for binary in python2 python2.7 python; do
           ovs_save_IFS=$IFS; IFS=$PATH_SEPARATOR
           for dir in $PATH; do
             IFS=$ovs_save_IFS