diff --git a/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb b/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
index 746066e..ba66b36 100644
--- a/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
+++ b/lib/factory_girl/factory.rb
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ class Factory
   def self.define (name, options = {})
     instance = Factory.new(name, options)
     yield(instance)
-    self.factories[name] = instance
+    self.factories[instance.factory_name] = instance
   end
 
   # Defines a new sequence that can be used to generate unique values in a specific format.
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class Factory
 
   def initialize (name, options = {}) #:nodoc:
     options.assert_valid_keys(:class)
-    @factory_name = name
+    @factory_name = name.to_sym
     @options      = options
 
     @static_attributes     = {}
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ class Factory
     private
 
     def factory_by_name (name)
-      factories[name] or raise ArgumentError.new("No such factory: #{name.inspect}")
+      factories[name.to_sym] or raise ArgumentError.new("No such factory: #{name.to_s}")
     end
 
   end
diff --git a/test/factory_test.rb b/test/factory_test.rb
index 48cba1f..08dac32 100644
--- a/test/factory_test.rb
+++ b/test/factory_test.rb
@@ -26,12 +26,13 @@ class FactoryTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     setup do
       @name    = :user
       @factory = mock('factory')
+      @factory.stubs(:factory_name).returns(@name)
       @options = { :class => 'magic' }
       Factory.stubs(:new).returns(@factory)
     end
 
     should "create a new factory using the specified name and options" do
-      Factory.expects(:new).with(@name, @options)
+      Factory.expects(:new).with(@name, @options).returns(@factory)
       Factory.define(@name, @options) {|f| }
     end
 
@@ -267,6 +268,33 @@ class FactoryTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
 
   end
 
+  context "a factory with a string for a name" do
+
+    setup do
+      @name    = :user
+      @factory = Factory.new(@name.to_s) {}
+    end
+
+    should "convert the string to a symbol" do
+      assert_equal @name, @factory.factory_name
+    end
+
+  end
+
+  context "a factory defined with a string name" do
+
+    setup do
+      Factory.factories = {}
+      @name    = :user
+      @factory = Factory.define(@name.to_s) {}
+    end
+
+    should "store the factory using a symbol" do
+      assert_equal @factory, Factory.factories[@name]
+    end
+
+  end
+
   context "Factory class" do
 
     setup do
@@ -296,6 +324,11 @@ class FactoryTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
         assert_raise(ArgumentError) { Factory.send(method, :bogus) }
       end
 
+      should "recognize either 'name' or :name for Factory.#{method}" do
+        assert_nothing_raised { Factory.send(method, @name.to_s) }
+        assert_nothing_raised { Factory.send(method, @name.to_sym) }
+      end
+
     end
 
     should "call the create method from the top-level Factory() method" do
diff --git a/test/integration_test.rb b/test/integration_test.rb
index 245ff9e..d1326c0 100644
--- a/test/integration_test.rb
+++ b/test/integration_test.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ class IntegrationTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
       f.email {|a| "#{a.first_name}.#{a.last_name}@example.com".downcase }
     end
 
-    Factory.define :post do |f|
+    Factory.define 'post' do |f|
       f.name   'Test Post'
       f.author {|a| a.association(:user) }
     end
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ class IntegrationTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "a created instance" do
 
     setup do
-      @instance = Factory.create(:post)
+      @instance = Factory.create('post')
     end
 
     should "be saved" do