diff --git a/src/bin/initdb/initdb.c b/src/bin/initdb/initdb.c
index 32d47d8fc99..5f6e1d6e077 100644
--- a/src/bin/initdb/initdb.c
+++ b/src/bin/initdb/initdb.c
@@ -2571,7 +2571,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (optind < argc)
 	{
 		fprintf(stderr, _("%s: too many command-line arguments (first is \"%s\")\n"),
-				progname, argv[optind + 1]);
+				progname, argv[optind]);
 		fprintf(stderr, _("Try \"%s --help\" for more information.\n"),
 				progname);
 		exit(1);