diff --git a/doc/tor.1.txt b/doc/tor.1.txt
index 1f3afef2ac..01f0be75e1 100644
--- a/doc/tor.1.txt
+++ b/doc/tor.1.txt
@@ -1475,13 +1475,13 @@ is non-zero):
     localhost, RFC1918 addresses, and so on. This can create security issues;
     you should probably leave it off. (Default: 0)
 
-**MaxMemInCellQueues**  __N__ **bytes**|**KB**|**MB**|**GB**::
+**MaxMemInQueues**  __N__ **bytes**|**KB**|**MB**|**GB**::
     This option configures a threshold above which Tor will assume that it
-    needs to stop queueing cells because it's about to run out of memory.
-    If it hits this threshold, it will begin killing circuits until it
-    has recovered at least 10% of this memory.  Do not set this option too
+    needs to stop queueing or buffering data because it's about to run out of
+    memory.  If it hits this threshold, it will begin killing circuits until
+    it has recovered at least 10% of this memory.  Do not set this option too
     low, or your relay may be unreliable under load.  This option only
-    effects circuit queues, so the actual process size will be larger than
+    affects some queues, so the actual process size will be larger than
     this. (Default: 8GB)
 
 DIRECTORY SERVER OPTIONS
diff --git a/src/or/circuitlist.c b/src/or/circuitlist.c
index 3237b1e397..2e135416c2 100644
--- a/src/or/circuitlist.c
+++ b/src/or/circuitlist.c
@@ -1512,11 +1512,11 @@ circuits_compare_by_oldest_queued_item_(const void **a_, const void **b_)
     return -1;
 }
 
-#define FRACTION_OF_CELLS_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM 0.90
+#define FRACTION_OF_DATA_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM 0.90
 
 /** We're out of memory for cells, having allocated <b>current_allocation</b>
  * bytes' worth.  Kill the 'worst' circuits until we're under
- * FRACTION_OF_CIRCS_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM of our maximum usage. */
+ * FRACTION_OF_DATA_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM of our maximum usage. */
 void
 circuits_handle_oom(size_t current_allocation)
 {
@@ -1530,11 +1530,11 @@ circuits_handle_oom(size_t current_allocation)
   uint32_t now_ms;
   log_notice(LD_GENERAL, "We're low on memory.  Killing circuits with "
              "over-long queues. (This behavior is controlled by "
-             "MaxMemInCellQueues.)");
+             "MaxMemInQueues.)");
 
   {
-    size_t mem_target = (size_t)(get_options()->MaxMemInCellQueues *
-                                 FRACTION_OF_CELLS_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM);
+    size_t mem_target = (size_t)(get_options()->MaxMemInQueues *
+                                 FRACTION_OF_DATA_TO_RETAIN_ON_OOM);
     if (current_allocation <= mem_target)
       return;
     mem_to_recover = current_allocation - mem_target;
diff --git a/src/or/config.c b/src/or/config.c
index d5c5689474..0accb65e5b 100644
--- a/src/or/config.c
+++ b/src/or/config.c
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ static config_abbrev_t _option_abbrevs[] = {
   { "BandwidthBurstBytes", "BandwidthBurst", 0, 0},
   { "DirFetchPostPeriod", "StatusFetchPeriod", 0, 0},
   { "MaxConn", "ConnLimit", 0, 1},
+  { "MaxMemInCellQueues", "MaxMemInQueues", 0, 0},
   { "ORBindAddress", "ORListenAddress", 0, 0},
   { "DirBindAddress", "DirListenAddress", 0, 0},
   { "SocksBindAddress", "SocksListenAddress", 0, 0},
@@ -343,7 +344,7 @@ static config_var_t _option_vars[] = {
   V(MaxAdvertisedBandwidth,      MEMUNIT,  "1 GB"),
   V(MaxCircuitDirtiness,         INTERVAL, "10 minutes"),
   V(MaxClientCircuitsPending,    UINT,     "32"),
-  V(MaxMemInCellQueues,          MEMUNIT,  "8 GB"),
+  V(MaxMemInQueues,              MEMUNIT,  "8 GB"),
   V(MaxOnionsPending,            UINT,     "100"),
   OBSOLETE("MonthlyAccountingStart"),
   V(MyFamily,                    STRING,   NULL),
@@ -3669,10 +3670,10 @@ options_validate(or_options_t *old_options, or_options_t *options,
     log_warn(LD_CONFIG, "EntryNodes is set, but UseEntryGuards is disabled. "
              "EntryNodes will be ignored.");
 
-  if (options->MaxMemInCellQueues < (500 << 20)) {
-    log_warn(LD_CONFIG, "MaxMemInCellQueues must be at least 500 MB for now. "
+  if (options->MaxMemInQueues < (500 << 20)) {
+    log_warn(LD_CONFIG, "MaxMemInQueues must be at least 500 MB for now. "
              "Ideally, have it as large as you can afford.");
-    options->MaxMemInCellQueues = (500 << 20);
+    options->MaxMemInQueues = (500 << 20);
   }
 
   options->_AllowInvalid = 0;
diff --git a/src/or/or.h b/src/or/or.h
index 0dd47d03b0..c323783ee2 100644
--- a/src/or/or.h
+++ b/src/or/or.h
@@ -3075,9 +3075,8 @@ typedef struct {
   config_line_t *DirPort_lines;
   config_line_t *DNSPort_lines; /**< Ports to listen on for DNS requests. */
 
-  uint64_t MaxMemInCellQueues; /**< If we have more memory than this allocated
-                                * for circuit cell queues, run the OOM handler
-                                */
+  uint64_t MaxMemInQueues; /**< If we have more memory than this allocated
+                            * for queues and buffers, run the OOM handler */
 
   /** @name port booleans
    *
diff --git a/src/or/relay.c b/src/or/relay.c
index 042fc18d11..e6d0f50aca 100644
--- a/src/or/relay.c
+++ b/src/or/relay.c
@@ -1999,7 +1999,7 @@ cell_queues_check_size(void)
 {
   size_t alloc = total_cells_allocated * packed_cell_mem_cost();
   alloc += buf_get_total_allocation();
-  if (alloc >= get_options()->MaxMemInCellQueues) {
+  if (alloc >= get_options()->MaxMemInQueues) {
     circuits_handle_oom(alloc);
     return 1;
   }