diff --git a/drivers/of/overlay.c b/drivers/of/overlay.c
index 276870291656..83c56dd9b5d8 100644
--- a/drivers/of/overlay.c
+++ b/drivers/of/overlay.c
@@ -256,6 +256,9 @@ static struct property *dup_and_fixup_symbol_prop(
 	if (!target_path)
 		return NULL;
 	target_path_len = strlen(target_path);
+	/* a root target renders as "/"; drop it to avoid "//" results */
+	if (target_path_len == 1 && target_path[0] == '/' && path_tail_len)
+		target_path_len = 0;
 
 	new_prop = kzalloc_obj(*new_prop);
 	if (!new_prop)