diff --git a/mesonbuild/scripts/env2mfile.py b/mesonbuild/scripts/env2mfile.py
index 57a679c59bbc..a59c1c40cba6 100755
--- a/mesonbuild/scripts/env2mfile.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/scripts/env2mfile.py
@@ -147,6 +147,11 @@ def get_args_from_envvars(infos: MachineInfo) -> None:
     'hurd': 'gnu',
 }
 
+# map from DEB_HOST_ARCH_OS to Meson machine.kernel()
+deb_kernel_map = {
+    'kfreebsd': 'freebsd',
+}
+
 def replace_special_cases(special_cases: T.Mapping[str, str], name: str) -> str:
     '''
     If name is a key in special_cases, replace it with the value, or otherwise
@@ -195,7 +200,7 @@ def dpkg_architecture_to_machine_info(output: str, options: T.Any) -> MachineInf
     host_arch = data['DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE']
     host_os = replace_special_cases(deb_os_map, data['DEB_HOST_ARCH_OS'])
     host_subsystem = host_os
-    host_kernel = 'linux'
+    host_kernel = replace_special_cases(deb_kernel_map, data['DEB_HOST_ARCH_OS'])
     host_cpu_family = replace_special_cases(deb_cpu_family_map, data['DEB_HOST_GNU_CPU'])
     host_cpu = replace_special_cases(deb_cpu_map, data['DEB_HOST_ARCH'])
     host_endian = data['DEB_HOST_ARCH_ENDIAN']
diff --git a/unittests/internaltests.py b/unittests/internaltests.py
index 36b124db821b..fbcfc1cf546b 100644
--- a/unittests/internaltests.py
+++ b/unittests/internaltests.py
@@ -1935,7 +1935,9 @@ def expected_binaries(gnu_tuple: str) -> T.Dict[str, T.List[str]]:
                     },
                     system='gnu',
                     subsystem='gnu',
-                    # TODO: Currently linux, but should be gnu/hurd/mach?
+                    # TODO: Currently hurd; should match whatever happens
+                    # during native builds, but at the moment native builds
+                    # fail when kernel() is called.
                     # https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/issues/13740
                     kernel='TODO',
                     # TODO: Currently hurd-i386, but should be i686
@@ -1977,8 +1979,7 @@ def expected_binaries(gnu_tuple: str) -> T.Dict[str, T.List[str]]:
                     },
                     system='kfreebsd',
                     subsystem='kfreebsd',
-                    # TODO: Currently linux but should be freebsd
-                    kernel='TODO',
+                    kernel='freebsd',
                     # TODO: Currently kfreebsd-amd64 but should be x86_64
                     cpu='TODO',
                     cpu_family='x86_64',