diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGELOG.md
similarity index 99%
rename from CHANGES
rename to CHANGELOG.md
index e1c5935d..12ffd57a 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 = Upcoming Release
 
  * Correctly handle encoded colons in routes. (Jeremy Evans)
+ * Rename CHANGE to Changelog.md and update Rakefile. (Eliza Sorensen)
  * Your contribution here.
 
 = 1.4.6 / 2015-03-23
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 40106e95..4ec60064 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ can be applied as quickly as possible:
    modify the `README.md` file to reflect that. Again, if you don't
    update the `README`, we have to, and this holds up acceptance.
 
-4. **Update the change log (`CHANGES`):** The change log helps give an
+4. **Update the change log (`CHANGELOG.md`):** The change log helps give an
    overview of the changes that go into each release, and gives credit
    where credit is due. We make sure that the change log is up to date
    before each release, and we always appreciate it when people make
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index d4a6bf12..400d0972 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ if defined?(Gem)
   end
 
   task 'release' => ['test', package('.gem')] do
-    if File.binread("CHANGES") =~ /= \d\.\d\.\d . not yet released$/i
-      fail 'please update changes first' unless %x{git symbolic-ref HEAD} == "refs/heads/prerelease\n"
+    if File.binread("CHANGELOG.md") =~ /= \d\.\d\.\d . not yet released$/i
+      fail 'please update the changelog first' unless %x{git symbolic-ref HEAD} == "refs/heads/prerelease\n"
     end
 
     sh <<-SH