diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabaseConflictingNamesTest.java b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabaseConflictingNamesTest.java
index 379885841..cbb47fa82 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabaseConflictingNamesTest.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit.test/tst/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabaseConflictingNamesTest.java
@@ -99,11 +99,6 @@ public Ref exactRef(String name) throws IOException {
 			return null;
 		}
 
-		@Override
-		public Ref getRef(String name) throws IOException {
-			return null;
-		}
-
 		@Override
 		public List<Ref> getAdditionalRefs() throws IOException {
 			return null;
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsRefDatabase.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsRefDatabase.java
index a88434684..8b2a03d4c 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsRefDatabase.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsRefDatabase.java
@@ -105,20 +105,6 @@ public Ref exactRef(String name) throws IOException {
 		return ref != null ? resolve(ref, 0, curr.ids) : null;
 	}
 
-	/** {@inheritDoc} */
-	@Override
-	public Ref getRef(String needle) throws IOException {
-		RefCache curr = read();
-		for (String prefix : SEARCH_PATH) {
-			Ref ref = curr.ids.get(prefix + needle);
-			if (ref != null) {
-				ref = resolve(ref, 0, curr.ids);
-				return ref;
-			}
-		}
-		return null;
-	}
-
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
 	@Override
 	public List<Ref> getAdditionalRefs() {
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsReftableDatabase.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsReftableDatabase.java
index 0e0a6ef5e..83394bb92 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsReftableDatabase.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/dfs/DfsReftableDatabase.java
@@ -227,18 +227,6 @@ public Ref exactRef(String name) throws IOException {
 		}
 	}
 
-	/** {@inheritDoc} */
-	@Override
-	public Ref getRef(String needle) throws IOException {
-		for (String prefix : SEARCH_PATH) {
-			Ref ref = exactRef(prefix + needle);
-			if (ref != null) {
-				return ref;
-			}
-		}
-		return null;
-	}
-
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
 	@Override
 	public Map<String, Ref> getRefs(String prefix) throws IOException {
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
index 83127eb54..a4729bba4 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/file/RefDirectory.java
@@ -388,23 +388,6 @@ public Ref firstExactRef(String... refs) throws IOException {
 		}
 	}
 
-	/** {@inheritDoc} */
-	@Override
-	public Ref getRef(String needle) throws IOException {
-		try {
-			RefList<Ref> packed = getPackedRefs();
-			for (String prefix : SEARCH_PATH) {
-				Ref ref = readAndResolve(prefix + needle, packed);
-				if (ref != null) {
-					return ref;
-				}
-			}
-			return null;
-		} finally {
-			fireRefsChanged();
-		}
-	}
-
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
 	@Override
 	public Map<String, Ref> getRefs(String prefix) throws IOException {
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/reftree/RefTreeDatabase.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/reftree/RefTreeDatabase.java
index 27daaf0bb..ddd05b3e5 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/reftree/RefTreeDatabase.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/internal/storage/reftree/RefTreeDatabase.java
@@ -204,16 +204,6 @@ public void close() {
 		bootstrap.close();
 	}
 
-	/** {@inheritDoc} */
-	@Override
-	public Ref getRef(String name) throws IOException {
-		String[] needle = new String[SEARCH_PATH.length];
-		for (int i = 0; i < SEARCH_PATH.length; i++) {
-			needle[i] = SEARCH_PATH[i] + name;
-		}
-		return firstExactRef(needle);
-	}
-
 	/** {@inheritDoc} */
 	@Override
 	public Ref exactRef(String name) throws IOException {
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabase.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabase.java
index 73c7b1c61..877792097 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabase.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/RefDatabase.java
@@ -69,10 +69,10 @@ public abstract class RefDatabase {
 	/**
 	 * Order of prefixes to search when using non-absolute references.
 	 * <p>
-	 * The implementation's {@link #getRef(String)} method must take this search
-	 * space into consideration when locating a reference by name. The first
-	 * entry in the path is always {@code ""}, ensuring that absolute references
-	 * are resolved without further mangling.
+	 * {@link #findRef(String)} takes this search space into consideration
+	 * when locating a reference by name. The first entry in the path is
+	 * always {@code ""}, ensuring that absolute references are resolved
+	 * without further mangling.
 	 */
 	protected static final String[] SEARCH_PATH = { "", //$NON-NLS-1$
 			Constants.R_REFS, //
@@ -256,6 +256,23 @@ public boolean performsAtomicTransactions() {
 		return false;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Compatibility synonym for {@link #findRef(String)}.
+	 *
+	 * @param name
+	 *            the name of the reference. May be a short name which must be
+	 *            searched for using the standard {@link #SEARCH_PATH}.
+	 * @return the reference (if it exists); else {@code null}.
+	 * @throws IOException
+	 *             the reference space cannot be accessed.
+	 * @deprecated Use {@link #findRef(String)} instead.
+	 */
+	@Deprecated
+	@Nullable
+	public final Ref getRef(String name) throws IOException {
+		return findRef(name);
+	}
+
 	/**
 	 * Read a single reference.
 	 * <p>
@@ -272,14 +289,21 @@ public boolean performsAtomicTransactions() {
 	 * @return the reference (if it exists); else {@code null}.
 	 * @throws java.io.IOException
 	 *             the reference space cannot be accessed.
+	 * @since 5.3
 	 */
 	@Nullable
-	public abstract Ref getRef(String name) throws IOException;
+	public final Ref findRef(String name) throws IOException {
+		String[] names = new String[SEARCH_PATH.length];
+		for (int i = 0; i < SEARCH_PATH.length; i++) {
+			names[i] = SEARCH_PATH[i] + name;
+		}
+		return firstExactRef(names);
+	}
 
 	/**
 	 * Read a single reference.
 	 * <p>
-	 * Unlike {@link #getRef}, this method expects an unshortened reference
+	 * Unlike {@link #findRef}, this method expects an unshortened reference
 	 * name and does not search using the standard {@link #SEARCH_PATH}.
 	 *
 	 * @param name
@@ -469,7 +493,7 @@ public boolean hasRefs() throws IOException {
 	 * <p>
 	 * The result list includes non-ref items such as MERGE_HEAD and
 	 * FETCH_RESULT cast to be refs. The names of these refs are not returned by
-	 * <code>getRefs()</code> but are accepted by {@link #getRef(String)}
+	 * <code>getRefs()</code> but are accepted by {@link #findRef(String)}
 	 * and {@link #exactRef(String)}.
 	 *
 	 * @return a list of additional refs
diff --git a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Repository.java b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Repository.java
index b72b7629f..ce51c14c2 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Repository.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.jgit/src/org/eclipse/jgit/lib/Repository.java
@@ -849,7 +849,7 @@ private ObjectId resolveSimple(String revstr) throws IOException {
 			return ObjectId.fromString(revstr);
 
 		if (Repository.isValidRefName("x/" + revstr)) { //$NON-NLS-1$
-			Ref r = getRefDatabase().getRef(revstr);
+			Ref r = getRefDatabase().findRef(revstr);
 			if (r != null)
 				return r.getObjectId();
 		}
@@ -1087,7 +1087,7 @@ public final Ref exactRef(String name) throws IOException {
 	 */
 	@Nullable
 	public final Ref findRef(String name) throws IOException {
-		return getRefDatabase().getRef(name);
+		return getRefDatabase().findRef(name);
 	}
 
 	/**