diff --git a/ibis/backends/sqlite/__init__.py b/ibis/backends/sqlite/__init__.py
index 0cfe66d71d415..33ca1e897b934 100644
--- a/ibis/backends/sqlite/__init__.py
+++ b/ibis/backends/sqlite/__init__.py
@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ def _from_url(self, url: str, **kwargs):
         """
         url = urlparse(url)
         database = url.path or ":memory:"
+        if database in ("/", "/:memory:"):
+            database = ":memory:"
         return self.connect(database=database, **kwargs)
 
     def raw_sql(self, query: str | sg.Expression, **kwargs: Any) -> Any: