diff --git a/archivemail b/archivemail
index 92faa2a..37b3777 100755
--- a/archivemail
+++ b/archivemail
@@ -1645,16 +1645,16 @@ def make_archive_name(mailbox_name):
         if options.archive_suffix:
             suffix = time.strftime(options.archive_suffix, tm)
     if re.match(r'imaps?://', mailbox_name.lower()):
-        archive_dir = ""
-        archive_base = mailbox_name.rsplit('/', 1)[-1]
+        archive_head = ""
+        archive_tail = mailbox_name.rsplit('/', 1)[-1]
     else:
-        archive_dir, archive_base = os.path.split(mailbox_name)
+        archive_head, archive_tail = os.path.split(mailbox_name)
     if not prefix:
         # Don't create hidden archives, e.g. when processing Maildir++ subfolders
-        archive_base = archive_base.lstrip('.')
+        archive_tail = archive_tail.lstrip('.')
     if options.output_dir:
-        archive_dir = options.output_dir
-    archive_name = os.path.join(archive_dir, prefix + archive_base + suffix)
+        archive_head = options.output_dir
+    archive_name = os.path.join(archive_head, prefix + archive_tail + suffix)
     return archive_name
 
 def check_sane_destdir(dir):