diff --git a/reference.go b/reference.go
index 452de46..140082f 100644
--- a/reference.go
+++ b/reference.go
@@ -430,3 +430,22 @@ func (v *ReferenceIterator) Free() {
 	runtime.SetFinalizer(v, nil)
 	C.git_reference_iterator_free(v.ptr)
 }
+
+// ReferenceIsValidName ensures the reference name is well-formed.
+//
+// Valid reference names must follow one of two patterns:
+//
+// 1. Top-level names must contain only capital letters and underscores,
+// and must begin and end with a letter. (e.g. "HEAD", "ORIG_HEAD").
+//
+// 2. Names prefixed with "refs/" can be almost anything. You must avoid
+// the characters '~', '^', ':', ' \ ', '?', '[', and '*', and the sequences
+// ".." and " @ {" which have special meaning to revparse.
+func ReferenceIsValidName(name string) bool {
+	cname := C.CString(name)
+	defer C.free(unsafe.Pointer(cname))
+	if C.git_reference_is_valid_name(cname) == 1 {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/reference_test.go b/reference_test.go
index b69a274..761daf8 100644
--- a/reference_test.go
+++ b/reference_test.go
@@ -208,6 +208,16 @@ func TestIsNote(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("%s should not be a note", ref.Name())
 	}
 }
+
+func TestReferenceIsValidName(t *testing.T) {
+	if !ReferenceIsValidName("HEAD") {
+		t.Errorf("HEAD should be a valid reference name")
+	}
+	if ReferenceIsValidName("HEAD1") {
+		t.Errorf("HEAD1 should not be a valid reference name")
+	}
+}
+
 func compareStringList(t *testing.T, expected, actual []string) {
 	for i, v := range expected {
 		if actual[i] != v {