diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9a7a1c5a..d33f8a19 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
    * `async` was added to the function interface.
  * Major changes have been make to the [JSON Formatter](index.js) to accommodate the structure change of `LintResult`.
  * Non top-level configuration support (ex. `targetdir/otherdir/repolinter.json` would trigger another lint of `otherdir`) has been removed for now.
+ * Renamed several rule options to more clearly convey functionality (`files` -> `globsAny`) and remove problematic language (`blacklist` -> `denylist`). Backwards compatibility for old property names in version 1 rulesets is still maintained, however the schema will fail to validate in version 2.
  * Some slight changes have been made to the default formatter to accommodate the feature list below.
 
 ### Features
diff --git a/rules/git-grep-commits.js b/rules/git-grep-commits.js
index 2d817022..c9f6d309 100644
--- a/rules/git-grep-commits.js
+++ b/rules/git-grep-commits.js
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@ function listFiles (fileSystem, options) {
  * @returns {Result} The lint rule result
  */
 function gitGrepCommits (fs, options) {
+  // backwards compatibility with blacklist
+  options.denylist = options.denylist || options.blacklist
+
   const files = listFiles(fs, options)
   const targets = files.map(file => {
     const [firstCommit, ...rest] = file.commits
diff --git a/rules/git-grep-log.js b/rules/git-grep-log.js
index ed1d9cc6..ae3519de 100644
--- a/rules/git-grep-log.js
+++ b/rules/git-grep-log.js
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ function extractInfo (commit) {
  * @returns {Result} The lint rule result
  */
 function gitGrepLog (fs, options) {
+  // backwards compatibility with blacklist
+  options.denylist = options.denylist || options.blacklist
+
   const commits = grepLog(fs, options)
 
   const targets = commits.map(commit => {
diff --git a/rules/git-list-tree.js b/rules/git-list-tree.js
index 15501582..e902d315 100644
--- a/rules/git-list-tree.js
+++ b/rules/git-list-tree.js
@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@ function listFiles (fileSystem, options) {
  * @returns {Result} The lint rule result
  */
 function gitListTree (fs, options) {
+  // backwards compatibility with blacklist
+  options.denylist = options.denylist || options.blacklist
+
   const files = listFiles(fs, options)
 
   const targets = files.map(file => {
diff --git a/tests/rules/git_grep_commits_tests.js b/tests/rules/git_grep_commits_tests.js
index 49803d67..15a7c3ed 100644
--- a/tests/rules/git_grep_commits_tests.js
+++ b/tests/rules/git_grep_commits_tests.js
@@ -31,6 +31,18 @@ describe('rule', () => {
       expect(actual.message).to.contain(ruleopts.denylist[0])
     })
 
+    it('is backwards compatible with blacklist', () => {
+      const ruleopts = {
+        blacklist: [DIFF_WRONG_CASE],
+        ignoreCase: false
+      }
+
+      const actual = gitGrepCommits(new FileSystem(), ruleopts)
+
+      expect(actual.passed).to.equal(true)
+      expect(actual.message).to.contain(ruleopts.blacklist[0])
+    })
+
     it('fails if the denylist pattern matches a commit', () => {
       const ruleopts = {
         denylist: [DIFF_CORRECT_CASE],
diff --git a/tests/rules/git_grep_log_tests.js b/tests/rules/git_grep_log_tests.js
index b6c715ed..5ca93755 100644
--- a/tests/rules/git_grep_log_tests.js
+++ b/tests/rules/git_grep_log_tests.js
@@ -27,6 +27,19 @@ describe('rule', () => {
       expect(actual.message).to.contain(ruleopts.denylist[0])
     })
 
+    it('is backwards compatible with blacklist', () => {
+      const ruleopts = {
+        blacklist: [LOG_WRONG_CASE],
+        ignoreCase: false
+      }
+
+      const actual = gitGrepLog(new FileSystem(), ruleopts)
+
+      expect(actual.passed).to.equal(true)
+      expect(actual.targets).to.have.length(0)
+      expect(actual.message).to.contain(ruleopts.blacklist[0])
+    })
+
     it('fails if the denylist pattern matches a commit message', () => {
       const ruleopts = {
         denylist: [LOG_WRONG_CASE],
diff --git a/tests/rules/git_list_tree_tests.js b/tests/rules/git_list_tree_tests.js
index 1816bd8c..0eda85be 100644
--- a/tests/rules/git_list_tree_tests.js
+++ b/tests/rules/git_list_tree_tests.js
@@ -28,6 +28,18 @@ describe('rule', () => {
       expect(actual.targets).to.have.length(0)
     })
 
+    it('is backwards compatible with blacklist', () => {
+      const ruleopts = {
+        blacklist: [PATH_WRONG_CASE],
+        ignoreCase: false
+      }
+
+      const actual = gitListTree(new FileSystem(), ruleopts)
+
+      expect(actual.passed).to.equal(true)
+      expect(actual.targets).to.have.length(0)
+    })
+
     it('fails if the denylist pattern matches a path', () => {
       const ruleopts = {
         denylist: [PATH_WRONG_CASE],