diff --git a/src/rcfile.c b/src/rcfile.c
index 168f4140..1f3e3471 100644
--- a/src/rcfile.c
+++ b/src/rcfile.c
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ void parse_syntax(char *ptr)
 
 	ptr = parse_next_word(ptr);
 
-	/* Check that there are no quotes or that they are paired. */
+	/* Check that quotes around the name are either paired or absent. */
 	if ((*nameptr == '\x22') ^ (nameptr[strlen(nameptr) - 1] == '\x22')) {
 		rcfile_error(N_("Unpaired quote in syntax name"));
 		return;
diff --git a/syntax/asm.nanorc b/syntax/asm.nanorc
index 35859eec..e01fe2bb 100644
--- a/syntax/asm.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/asm.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for assembler.
 
-syntax "asm" "\.(S|s|asm)$"
+syntax asm "\.(S|s|asm)$"
 magic "assembler source"
 comment "//"
 
diff --git a/syntax/autoconf.nanorc b/syntax/autoconf.nanorc
index 918de3dc..b2bdabd4 100644
--- a/syntax/autoconf.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/autoconf.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Autoconf.
 
-syntax "autoconf" "\.(ac|m4)$"
+syntax autoconf "\.(ac|m4)$"
 comment "#"
 
 # Keywords:
diff --git a/syntax/awk.nanorc b/syntax/awk.nanorc
index 7d3dff3b..e9f0e1cd 100644
--- a/syntax/awk.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/awk.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for awk.
 
-syntax "awk" "\.awk$"
+syntax awk "\.awk$"
 magic "awk script"
 comment "#"
 
diff --git a/syntax/c.nanorc b/syntax/c.nanorc
index 78041ffa..b7e0ee93 100644
--- a/syntax/c.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/c.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for C/C++.
 
-syntax "c" "\.(c(c|pp|xx|\+\+)?|C)$" "\.(h(h|pp|xx)?|H)$" "\.ii?$"
+syntax c "\.(c(c|pp|xx|\+\+)?|C)$" "\.(h(h|pp|xx)?|H)$" "\.ii?$"
 magic "^(C|C\+\+) (source|program)"
 comment "//"
 
diff --git a/syntax/changelog.nanorc b/syntax/changelog.nanorc
index b5226202..91ed5bb5 100644
--- a/syntax/changelog.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/changelog.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Colouring for Changelogs.
 
-syntax "changelog" "Change[Ll]og.*"
+syntax changelog "Change[Ll]og.*"
 
 # Author lines.
 color green "^(19|20).*$"
diff --git a/syntax/cmake.nanorc b/syntax/cmake.nanorc
index 32633aaf..358f80b4 100644
--- a/syntax/cmake.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/cmake.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Syntax highlighting for CMake files.
 
-syntax "cmake" "(CMakeLists\.txt|\.cmake)$"
+syntax cmake "(CMakeLists\.txt|\.cmake)$"
 comment "#"
 
 icolor green "^[[:space:]]*[A-Z0-9_]+"
diff --git a/syntax/css.nanorc b/syntax/css.nanorc
index a0531cdc..27801640 100644
--- a/syntax/css.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/css.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for CSS files.
 
-syntax "css" "\.css$"
+syntax css "\.css$"
 comment "/*|*/"
 
 color brightred     "."
diff --git a/syntax/debian.nanorc b/syntax/debian.nanorc
index 10e8a321..c3b1d537 100644
--- a/syntax/debian.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/debian.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for apt's sources.list.
 
-syntax "sources.list" "sources\.list(~|\.old|\.save)?$" "sources\.list\.d/.*\.list(~|\.old|\.save)?$"
+syntax sources.list "sources\.list(~|\.old|\.save)?$" "sources\.list\.d/.*\.list(~|\.old|\.save)?$"
 comment "#"
 
 # Coloring the deb lines, working from tail to head.  First the
diff --git a/syntax/default.nanorc b/syntax/default.nanorc
index e9ef3036..665f54e4 100644
--- a/syntax/default.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/default.nanorc
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ## An example of a default syntax.  The default syntax is used for
 ## files that do not match any other syntax.
 
-syntax "default"
+syntax default
 comment "#"
 
 # Comments.
diff --git a/syntax/elisp.nanorc b/syntax/elisp.nanorc
index 296ff49d..a5f69e67 100644
--- a/syntax/elisp.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/elisp.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Emacs Lisp.
 
-syntax "elisp" "\.el$"
+syntax elisp "\.el$"
 magic "Lisp/Scheme program"
 comment ";"
 
diff --git a/syntax/fortran.nanorc b/syntax/fortran.nanorc
index 2a56bc78..499f95b3 100644
--- a/syntax/fortran.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/fortran.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Fortran 90/95.
 
-syntax "fortran" "\.(f|f90|f95)$"
+syntax fortran "\.(f|f90|f95)$"
 comment "!"
 
 color red "\<[0-9]+\>"
diff --git a/syntax/gentoo.nanorc b/syntax/gentoo.nanorc
index 330db661..937470d9 100644
--- a/syntax/gentoo.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/gentoo.nanorc
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ## Here is an example for Gentoo ebuilds/eclasses,
 ## and (further down) one for Portage control files.
 
-syntax "ebuild" "\.e(build|class|blit)$"
+syntax ebuild "\.e(build|class|blit)$"
 comment "#"
 
 ## All the standard portage functions:
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ color ,green "[[:space:]]+$"
 color ,green " 	"
 
 
-syntax "/etc/portage" "\.(accept_keywords|env|keywords|mask|unmask|use)(/.+)?$"
+syntax /etc/portage "\.(accept_keywords|env|keywords|mask|unmask|use)(/.+)?$"
 comment "#"
 
 ## Base text:
diff --git a/syntax/go.nanorc b/syntax/go.nanorc
index 6f12be2f..451fd906 100644
--- a/syntax/go.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/go.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Go.
 
-syntax "go" "\.go$"
+syntax go "\.go$"
 comment "//"
 
 # Set up a formatter since spelling is probably useless...
diff --git a/syntax/groff.nanorc b/syntax/groff.nanorc
index 109f9cd6..01eebec9 100644
--- a/syntax/groff.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/groff.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for groff.
 
-syntax "groff" "\.m[ems]$" "\.rof" "\.tmac$" "^tmac."
+syntax groff "\.m[ems]$" "\.rof" "\.tmac$" "^tmac."
 comment ".\""
 
 # The argument of .ds or .nr
diff --git a/syntax/guile.nanorc b/syntax/guile.nanorc
index db5f786b..aafada07 100644
--- a/syntax/guile.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/guile.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Guile Scheme.
 
-syntax "guile" "\.scm$"
+syntax guile "\.scm$"
 header "^#!.*guile"
 comment ";"
 
diff --git a/syntax/html.nanorc b/syntax/html.nanorc
index f8da6990..05075127 100644
--- a/syntax/html.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/html.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for HTML.
 
-syntax "html" "\.html?$"
+syntax html "\.html?$"
 magic "HTML document"
 comment "<!--|-->"
 
diff --git a/syntax/java.nanorc b/syntax/java.nanorc
index f0bd01dd..5bb294f4 100644
--- a/syntax/java.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/java.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Java.
 
-syntax "java" "\.java$"
+syntax java "\.java$"
 magic "Java "
 comment "//"
 
diff --git a/syntax/javascript.nanorc b/syntax/javascript.nanorc
index 5f667a12..1fe75516 100644
--- a/syntax/javascript.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/javascript.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Syntax highlighting for Javascript.
 
-syntax "javascript" "\.js$"
+syntax javascript "\.js$"
 comment "//"
 
 # Declarational stuff.
diff --git a/syntax/json.nanorc b/syntax/json.nanorc
index 20d50c1d..293add24 100644
--- a/syntax/json.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/json.nanorc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # Original author:  Aapo Rantalainen
 # License:  GPLv3 or newer
 
-syntax "json" "\.json$"
+syntax json "\.json$"
 # No comments are permitted in JSON.
 comment ""
 
diff --git a/syntax/lua.nanorc b/syntax/lua.nanorc
index 41d88405..a125d1bd 100644
--- a/syntax/lua.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/lua.nanorc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 ## Original author:  Matthew Wild <mwild1 (at) gmail.com>
 ## License: GPL 3 or later
 
-syntax "lua" "\.lua$"
+syntax lua "\.lua$"
 magic "Lua script"
 comment "--"
 
diff --git a/syntax/makefile.nanorc b/syntax/makefile.nanorc
index e94a2499..33ee070f 100644
--- a/syntax/makefile.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/makefile.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Makefiles.
 
-syntax "makefile" "Makefile[^/]*$" "\.(make|mk)$"
+syntax makefile "Makefile[^/]*$" "\.(make|mk)$"
 magic "makefile script"
 comment "#"
 
diff --git a/syntax/man.nanorc b/syntax/man.nanorc
index 00d8fe92..2c999d7d 100644
--- a/syntax/man.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/man.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for manpages.
 
-syntax "man" "\.[1-9]x?$"
+syntax man "\.[1-9]x?$"
 magic "troff or preprocessor input"
 comment ".\""
 
diff --git a/syntax/mgp.nanorc b/syntax/mgp.nanorc
index 1e9d718f..e460e7a8 100644
--- a/syntax/mgp.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/mgp.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Magicpoint presentations.
 
-syntax "mgp" "\.mgp$"
+syntax mgp "\.mgp$"
 header "^%include.*"
 comment "#"
 
diff --git a/syntax/mutt.nanorc b/syntax/mutt.nanorc
index 80fbcf46..97cfcd1e 100644
--- a/syntax/mutt.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/mutt.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for quoted emails (under e.g. mutt).
 
-syntax "mutt"
+syntax mutt
 
 # Quoted lines.
 color green "^>.*"
diff --git a/syntax/nanohelp.nanorc b/syntax/nanohelp.nanorc
index 18f332fe..d53bb87d 100644
--- a/syntax/nanohelp.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/nanohelp.nanorc
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ## This is meant for highlighting key combos in a nano help text.
 
 # It should not apply to any normal file, so no fileregex.
-syntax "nanohelp"
+syntax nanohelp
 
 # Key combos:
 color cyan "\^[]4-8A-Z^\_◀▶▲▼]"  "[◀▶▲▼]"  "(\^|M-)Space"  "\<M-."  "\<F1?[0-9]"
diff --git a/syntax/nanorc.nanorc b/syntax/nanorc.nanorc
index 9882d6b0..12b8975a 100644
--- a/syntax/nanorc.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/nanorc.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for nanorc files.
 
-syntax "nanorc" "\.?nanorc$"
+syntax nanorc "\.?nanorc$"
 comment "#"
 
 # Possible errors and parameters
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*set[[:space:]]+(backupdir|brackets|functioncolo
 icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*bind[[:space:]]+((\^([[:alpha:]]|[]0-9\^_]|Space)|M-([[:alpha:]]|[]!"#$%&'()*+,./0-9:;<=>?@\^_`{|}~-]|Space))|F([1-9]|1[0-6])|Ins|Del)[[:space:]]+[[:alpha:]]+[[:space:]]+(all|main|search|replace(with)?|gotoline|writeout|insert|ext(ernal)?cmd|help|spell|linter|browser|whereisfile|gotodir)([[:space:]]+#|[[:space:]]*$)"
 icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*unbind[[:space:]]+((\^([[:alpha:]]|[]0-9\^_]|Space)|M-([[:alpha:]]|[]!"#$%&'()*+,./0-9:;<=>?@\^_`{|}~-]|Space))|F([1-9]|1[0-6])|Ins|Del)[[:space:]]+(all|main|search|replace(with)?|gotoline|writeout|insert|ext(ernal)?cmd|help|spell|linter|browser|whereisfile|gotodir)([[:space:]]+#|[[:space:]]*$)"
 icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*extendsyntax[[:space:]]+[[:alpha:]]+[[:space:]]+(i?color|header|magic|comment|linter|formatter)[[:space:]]+.*$"
-icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*(linter|formatter)[[:space:]]+[[:alpha:]]+"
+icolor brightgreen "^[[:space:]]*(syntax|linter|formatter)[[:space:]]+[^[:blank:]]+"
 icolor green "^[[:space:]]*((un)?(bind|set)|include|syntax|header|magic|comment|linter|formatter|extendsyntax)\>"
 
 # Strings
diff --git a/syntax/nftables.nanorc b/syntax/nftables.nanorc
index ce0ef9c4..252c047d 100644
--- a/syntax/nftables.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/nftables.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for nftables.
 
-syntax "nftables" "\.(nft|nftables)$"
+syntax nftables "\.(nft|nftables)$"
 header "^#!.*(nft|nftables)"
 comment "#"
 
diff --git a/syntax/objc.nanorc b/syntax/objc.nanorc
index 70fb6c6e..c09c844a 100644
--- a/syntax/objc.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/objc.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for C/C++/Obj-C.
 
-syntax "m" "\.m$"
+syntax m "\.m$"
 magic "Objective-C source"
 comment "//"
 
diff --git a/syntax/ocaml.nanorc b/syntax/ocaml.nanorc
index 73d6e065..26b20b93 100644
--- a/syntax/ocaml.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/ocaml.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Syntax highlighting for OCaml.
 
-syntax "ocaml" "\.mli?$"
+syntax ocaml "\.mli?$"
 magic "OCaml"
 comment "(*|*)"
 
diff --git a/syntax/patch.nanorc b/syntax/patch.nanorc
index 5bf2a399..8d9e0aa9 100644
--- a/syntax/patch.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/patch.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for patch files.
 
-syntax "patch" "\.(patch|diff|debdiff)$"
+syntax patch "\.(patch|diff|debdiff)$"
 magic "diff output"
 # There is no official support for comments in patch files.
 comment ""
diff --git a/syntax/perl.nanorc b/syntax/perl.nanorc
index beb9b079..81fec835 100644
--- a/syntax/perl.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/perl.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Perl.
 
-syntax "perl" "\.p[lm]$"
+syntax perl "\.p[lm]$"
 header "^#!.*perl[-0-9._]*"
 magic "Perl script"
 comment "#"
diff --git a/syntax/php.nanorc b/syntax/php.nanorc
index da47144d..dead9d30 100644
--- a/syntax/php.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/php.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for PHP.
 
-syntax "php" "\.ph(p[23457s~]?|tml)$"
+syntax php "\.ph(p[23457s~]?|tml)$"
 magic "PHP script"
 comment "//"
 
diff --git a/syntax/po.nanorc b/syntax/po.nanorc
index 526c1c2f..16441d1f 100644
--- a/syntax/po.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/po.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Colouring for PO files.
 
-syntax "po" "\.pot?$"
+syntax po "\.pot?$"
 comment "#"
 
 # Comments.
diff --git a/syntax/postgresql.nanorc b/syntax/postgresql.nanorc
index 12d4483f..d6b07ab4 100644
--- a/syntax/postgresql.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/postgresql.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for PostgreSQL.
 
-syntax "sql" "\.sql[2345s~]?$"
+syntax sql "\.sql[2345s~]?$"
 comment "-- "
 
 # Functions.
diff --git a/syntax/pov.nanorc b/syntax/pov.nanorc
index 9746bcc3..ad1e4e7c 100644
--- a/syntax/pov.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/pov.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for POV-Ray.
 
-syntax "pov" "\.(pov|POV|povray|POVRAY)$"
+syntax pov "\.(pov|POV|povray|POVRAY)$"
 comment "//"
 
 color brightcyan "^[[:space:]]*#[[:space:]]*(declare)"
diff --git a/syntax/python.nanorc b/syntax/python.nanorc
index ef1dfa01..4e3e75ed 100644
--- a/syntax/python.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/python.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Python.
 
-syntax "python" "\.py$"
+syntax python "\.py$"
 header "^#!.*python[-0-9._]*"
 magic "Python script"
 linter pyflakes
diff --git a/syntax/ruby.nanorc b/syntax/ruby.nanorc
index 7fd1e3b7..ab12cc05 100644
--- a/syntax/ruby.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/ruby.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Ruby.
 
-syntax "ruby" "\.rb$"
+syntax ruby "\.rb$"
 header "^#!.*ruby[-0-9._]*"
 magic "Ruby script"
 linter ruby -w -c
diff --git a/syntax/rust.nanorc b/syntax/rust.nanorc
index 0381de6d..f7e27566 100644
--- a/syntax/rust.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/rust.nanorc
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 ## NOTE: Rules are applied in order: later rules re-colorize matching text.
 
-syntax "rust" "\.rs"
+syntax rust "\.rs"
 comment "//"
 
 # Function definitions
diff --git a/syntax/sh.nanorc b/syntax/sh.nanorc
index 406e332c..5346808d 100644
--- a/syntax/sh.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/sh.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Bourne shell scripts.
 
-syntax "sh" "\.sh$"
+syntax sh "\.sh$"
 header "^#!.*((ba|da|k|pdk)?sh[-0-9_]*|openrc-run|runscript)"
 magic "(POSIX|Bourne-Again) shell script.*text"
 linter dash -n
diff --git a/syntax/spec.nanorc b/syntax/spec.nanorc
index 407cab17..210415e3 100644
--- a/syntax/spec.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/spec.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Syntax highlighting for RPM spec files.
 
-syntax "spec" "\.(spec$|spec\.*)"
+syntax spec "\.(spec$|spec\.*)"
 comment "#"
 
 # Main tags.
diff --git a/syntax/tcl.nanorc b/syntax/tcl.nanorc
index 363b53e2..2636425a 100644
--- a/syntax/tcl.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/tcl.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Syntax highlighting for Tcl files.
 
-syntax "tcl" "\.tcl$"
+syntax tcl "\.tcl$"
 magic "Tcl(/Tk)? script"
 comment "#"
 
diff --git a/syntax/tex.nanorc b/syntax/tex.nanorc
index 7dcb3836..2f483384 100644
--- a/syntax/tex.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/tex.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is a short example for TeX files.
 
-syntax "tex" "\.tex$"
+syntax tex "\.tex$"
 magic "(La)?TeX document"
 linter chktex -v0 -q -I
 comment "%"
diff --git a/syntax/texinfo.nanorc b/syntax/texinfo.nanorc
index 3125d254..2a6c6d56 100644
--- a/syntax/texinfo.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/texinfo.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for Texinfo files.
 
-syntax "texinfo" "\.texi$"
+syntax texinfo "\.texi$"
 header "^\\input texinfo"
 magic "Texinfo source"
 comment "@c "
diff --git a/syntax/xml.nanorc b/syntax/xml.nanorc
index 084618ab..c13c5ebc 100644
--- a/syntax/xml.nanorc
+++ b/syntax/xml.nanorc
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Here is an example for XML files.
 
-syntax "xml" "\.([jrsx]html?|jnlp|mml|pom|rng|sgml?|svg|w[as]dl|wsdd|xjb|xml|xs(d|lt?)|xul)$"
+syntax xml "\.([jrsx]html?|jnlp|mml|pom|rng|sgml?|svg|w[as]dl|wsdd|xjb|xml|xs(d|lt?)|xul)$"
 header "<\?xml.*version=.*\?>"
 magic "(XML|SGML) (sub)?document"
 comment "<!--|-->"