diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 0887b4531..8df8481af 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ $hoespec = Hoe.spec 'pg' do
 
 	self.spec_extras[:extensions] = [ 'ext/extconf.rb' ]
 
-	self.require_ruby_version( '>= 2.0.0' )
+	self.require_ruby_version( '>= 2.2' )
 
 	self.hg_sign_tags = true if self.respond_to?( :hg_sign_tags= )
 	self.check_history_on_release = true if self.respond_to?( :check_history_on_release= )
diff --git a/ext/pg.h b/ext/pg.h
index 1807e0b5f..24f59b689 100644
--- a/ext/pg.h
+++ b/ext/pg.h
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ typedef long suseconds_t;
 #define RARRAY_AREF(a, i) (RARRAY_PTR(a)[i])
 #endif
 
-#define PG_ENC_IDX_BITS 30
+#define PG_ENC_IDX_BITS 28
 
 /* The data behind each PG::Connection object */
 typedef struct {
@@ -102,6 +102,8 @@ typedef struct {
 	VALUE decoder_for_get_copy_data;
 	/* Ruby encoding index of the client/internal encoding */
 	int enc_idx : PG_ENC_IDX_BITS;
+	/* flags controlling Symbol/String field names */
+	unsigned int flags : 2;
 
 #if defined(_WIN32)
 	/* File descriptor to be used for rb_w32_unwrap_io_handle() */
@@ -135,6 +137,9 @@ typedef struct {
 	 */
 	unsigned int autoclear : 1;
 
+	/* flags controlling Symbol/String field names */
+	unsigned int flags : 2;
+
 	/* Number of fields in fnames[] .
 	 * Set to -1 if fnames[] is not yet initialized.
 	 */
@@ -149,7 +154,7 @@ typedef struct {
 	/* Hash with fnames[] to field number mapping. */
 	VALUE field_map;
 
-	/* List of field names as frozen String objects.
+	/* List of field names as frozen String or Symbol objects.
 	 * Only valid if nfields != -1
 	 */
 	VALUE fnames[0];
@@ -165,6 +170,10 @@ typedef VALUE (* t_pg_typecast_result)(t_typemap *, VALUE, int, int);
 typedef t_pg_coder *(* t_pg_typecast_query_param)(t_typemap *, VALUE, int);
 typedef VALUE (* t_pg_typecast_copy_get)( t_typemap *, VALUE, int, int, int );
 
+#define PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_MASK 0x03
+#define PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL 0x01
+#define PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL 0x02
+
 #define PG_CODER_TIMESTAMP_DB_UTC 0x0
 #define PG_CODER_TIMESTAMP_DB_LOCAL 0x1
 #define PG_CODER_TIMESTAMP_APP_UTC 0x0
diff --git a/ext/pg_connection.c b/ext/pg_connection.c
index 2c212b607..f6923a964 100644
--- a/ext/pg_connection.c
+++ b/ext/pg_connection.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 VALUE rb_cPGconn;
 static ID s_id_encode;
 static VALUE sym_type, sym_format, sym_value;
+static VALUE sym_symbol, sym_string, sym_static_symbol;
 
 static PQnoticeReceiver default_notice_receiver = NULL;
 static PQnoticeProcessor default_notice_processor = NULL;
@@ -4060,6 +4061,58 @@ pgconn_decoder_for_get_copy_data_get(VALUE self)
 	return this->decoder_for_get_copy_data;
 }
 
+/*
+ * call-seq:
+ *    conn.field_name_type = Symbol
+ *
+ * Set default type of field names of results retrieved by this connection.
+ * It can be set to one of:
+ * * +:string+ to use String based field names
+ * * +:symbol+ to use Symbol based field names
+ *
+ * The default is +:string+ .
+ *
+ * Settings the type of field names affects only future results.
+ *
+ * See further description at PG::Result#field_name_type=
+ *
+ */
+static VALUE
+pgconn_field_name_type_set(VALUE self, VALUE sym)
+{
+	t_pg_connection *this = pg_get_connection( self );
+
+	this->flags &= ~PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_MASK;
+	if( sym == sym_symbol ) this->flags |= PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL;
+	else if ( sym == sym_static_symbol ) this->flags |= PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL;
+	else if ( sym == sym_string );
+	else rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "invalid argument %+"PRIsVALUE, sym);
+
+	return sym;
+}
+
+/*
+ * call-seq:
+ *    conn.field_name_type -> Symbol
+ *
+ * Get type of field names.
+ *
+ * See description at #field_name_type=
+ */
+static VALUE
+pgconn_field_name_type_get(VALUE self)
+{
+	t_pg_connection *this = pg_get_connection( self );
+
+	if( this->flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL ){
+		return sym_symbol;
+	} else if( this->flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL ){
+		return sym_static_symbol;
+	} else {
+		return sym_string;
+	}
+}
+
 
 /*
  * Document-class: PG::Connection
@@ -4071,6 +4124,9 @@ init_pg_connection()
 	sym_type = ID2SYM(rb_intern("type"));
 	sym_format = ID2SYM(rb_intern("format"));
 	sym_value = ID2SYM(rb_intern("value"));
+	sym_string = ID2SYM(rb_intern("string"));
+	sym_symbol = ID2SYM(rb_intern("symbol"));
+	sym_static_symbol = ID2SYM(rb_intern("static_symbol"));
 
 	rb_cPGconn = rb_define_class_under( rb_mPG, "Connection", rb_cObject );
 	rb_include_module(rb_cPGconn, rb_mPGconstants);
@@ -4255,4 +4311,7 @@ init_pg_connection()
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGconn, "encoder_for_put_copy_data", pgconn_encoder_for_put_copy_data_get, 0);
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGconn, "decoder_for_get_copy_data=", pgconn_decoder_for_get_copy_data_set, 1);
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGconn, "decoder_for_get_copy_data", pgconn_decoder_for_get_copy_data_get, 0);
+
+	rb_define_method(rb_cPGconn, "field_name_type=", pgconn_field_name_type_set, 1 );
+	rb_define_method(rb_cPGconn, "field_name_type", pgconn_field_name_type_get, 0 );
 }
diff --git a/ext/pg_result.c b/ext/pg_result.c
index 8e57690ca..a8de1e709 100644
--- a/ext/pg_result.c
+++ b/ext/pg_result.c
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 #include "pg.h"
 
-
 VALUE rb_cPGresult;
+static VALUE sym_symbol, sym_string, sym_static_symbol;
 
 static VALUE pgresult_type_map_set( VALUE, VALUE );
 static t_pg_result *pgresult_get_this( VALUE );
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ pg_new_result2(PGresult *result, VALUE rb_pgconn)
 	this->nfields = -1;
 	this->tuple_hash = Qnil;
 	this->field_map = Qnil;
+	this->flags = 0;
 	self = TypedData_Wrap_Struct(rb_cPGresult, &pgresult_type, this);
 
 	if( result ){
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ pg_new_result2(PGresult *result, VALUE rb_pgconn)
 		this->enc_idx = p_conn->enc_idx;
 		this->typemap = p_typemap->funcs.fit_to_result( typemap, self );
 		this->p_typemap = DATA_PTR( this->typemap );
+		this->flags = p_conn->flags;
 	} else {
 		this->enc_idx = rb_locale_encindex();
 	}
@@ -404,6 +406,31 @@ pgresult_get(VALUE self)
 	return this->pgresult;
 }
 
+static VALUE pg_cstr_to_sym(char *cstr, unsigned int flags, int enc_idx)
+{
+	VALUE fname;
+#ifdef TRUFFLERUBY
+	if( flags & (PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL | PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL) ){
+#else
+	if( flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL ){
+		rb_encoding *enc = rb_enc_from_index(enc_idx);
+		fname = rb_check_symbol_cstr(cstr, strlen(cstr), enc);
+		if( fname == Qnil ){
+			fname = rb_tainted_str_new2(cstr);
+			PG_ENCODING_SET_NOCHECK(fname, enc_idx);
+			fname = rb_str_intern(fname);
+		}
+	} else if( flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL ){
+#endif
+		rb_encoding *enc = rb_enc_from_index(enc_idx);
+		fname = ID2SYM(rb_intern3(cstr, strlen(cstr), enc));
+	} else {
+		fname = rb_tainted_str_new2(cstr);
+		PG_ENCODING_SET_NOCHECK(fname, enc_idx);
+		fname = rb_obj_freeze(fname);
+	}
+	return fname;
+}
 
 static void pgresult_init_fnames(VALUE self)
 {
@@ -414,12 +441,9 @@ static void pgresult_init_fnames(VALUE self)
 		int nfields = PQnfields(this->pgresult);
 
 		for( i=0; i<nfields; i++ ){
-			VALUE fname = rb_tainted_str_new2(PQfname(this->pgresult, i));
-			PG_ENCODING_SET_NOCHECK(fname, this->enc_idx);
-			this->fnames[i] = rb_obj_freeze(fname);
+			char *cfname = PQfname(this->pgresult, i);
+			this->fnames[i] = pg_cstr_to_sym(cfname, this->flags, this->enc_idx);
 			this->nfields = i + 1;
-
-			RB_GC_GUARD(fname);
 		}
 		this->nfields = nfields;
 	}
@@ -597,24 +621,25 @@ pgresult_nfields(VALUE self)
 
 /*
  * call-seq:
- *    res.fname( index ) -> String
+ *    res.fname( index ) -> String or Symbol
  *
  * Returns the name of the column corresponding to _index_.
+ * Depending on #field_name_type= it's a String or Symbol.
+ *
  */
 static VALUE
 pgresult_fname(VALUE self, VALUE index)
 {
-	VALUE fname;
 	t_pg_result *this = pgresult_get_this_safe(self);
 	int i = NUM2INT(index);
+	char *cfname;
 
 	if (i < 0 || i >= PQnfields(this->pgresult)) {
 		rb_raise(rb_eArgError,"invalid field number %d", i);
 	}
 
-	fname = rb_tainted_str_new2(PQfname(this->pgresult, i));
-	PG_ENCODING_SET_NOCHECK(fname, this->enc_idx);
-	return rb_obj_freeze(fname);
+	cfname = PQfname(this->pgresult, i);
+	return pg_cstr_to_sym(cfname, this->flags, this->enc_idx);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -1115,8 +1140,12 @@ static VALUE
 pgresult_field_values( VALUE self, VALUE field )
 {
 	PGresult *result = pgresult_get( self );
-	const char *fieldname = StringValueCStr( field );
-	int fnum = PQfnumber( result, fieldname );
+	const char *fieldname;
+	int fnum;
+
+	if( RB_TYPE_P(field, T_SYMBOL) ) field = rb_sym_to_s( field );
+	fieldname = StringValueCStr( field );
+	fnum = PQfnumber( result, fieldname );
 
 	if ( fnum < 0 )
 		rb_raise( rb_eIndexError, "no such field '%s' in result", fieldname );
@@ -1230,7 +1259,7 @@ pgresult_each(VALUE self)
  * call-seq:
  *    res.fields() -> Array
  *
- * Returns an array of Strings representing the names of the fields in the result.
+ * Depending on #field_name_type= returns an array of strings or symbols representing the names of the fields in the result.
  */
 static VALUE
 pgresult_fields(VALUE self)
@@ -1466,10 +1495,70 @@ pgresult_stream_each_tuple(VALUE self)
 	return pgresult_stream_any(self, yield_tuple);
 }
 
+/*
+ * call-seq:
+ *    res.field_name_type = Symbol
+ *
+ * Set type of field names specific to this result.
+ * It can be set to one of:
+ * * +:string+ to use String based field names
+ * * +:symbol+ to use Symbol based field names
+ * * +:static_symbol+ to use pinned Symbol (can not be garbage collected) - Don't use this, it will probably removed in future.
+ *
+ * The default is retrieved from PG::Connection#field_name_type , which defaults to +:string+ .
+ *
+ * This setting affects several result methods:
+ * * keys of Hash returned by #[] , #each and #stream_each
+ * * #fields
+ * * #fname
+ * * field names used by #tuple and #stream_each_tuple
+ *
+ * The type of field names can only be changed before any of the affected methods have been called.
+ *
+ */
+static VALUE
+pgresult_field_name_type_set(VALUE self, VALUE sym)
+{
+	t_pg_result *this = pgresult_get_this(self);
+	if( this->nfields != -1 ) rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "field names are already materialized");
+
+	this->flags &= ~PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_MASK;
+	if( sym == sym_symbol ) this->flags |= PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL;
+	else if ( sym == sym_static_symbol ) this->flags |= PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL;
+	else if ( sym == sym_string );
+	else rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "invalid argument %+"PRIsVALUE, sym);
+
+	return sym;
+}
+
+/*
+ * call-seq:
+ *    res.field_name_type -> Symbol
+ *
+ * Get type of field names.
+ *
+ * See description at #field_name_type=
+ */
+static VALUE
+pgresult_field_name_type_get(VALUE self)
+{
+	t_pg_result *this = pgresult_get_this(self);
+	if( this->flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_SYMBOL ){
+		return sym_symbol;
+	} else if( this->flags & PG_RESULT_FIELD_NAMES_STATIC_SYMBOL ){
+		return sym_static_symbol;
+	} else {
+		return sym_string;
+	}
+}
 
 void
 init_pg_result()
 {
+	sym_string = ID2SYM(rb_intern("string"));
+	sym_symbol = ID2SYM(rb_intern("symbol"));
+	sym_static_symbol = ID2SYM(rb_intern("static_symbol"));
+
 	rb_cPGresult = rb_define_class_under( rb_mPG, "Result", rb_cData );
 	rb_include_module(rb_cPGresult, rb_mEnumerable);
 	rb_include_module(rb_cPGresult, rb_mPGconstants);
@@ -1526,4 +1615,7 @@ init_pg_result()
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGresult, "stream_each", pgresult_stream_each, 0);
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGresult, "stream_each_row", pgresult_stream_each_row, 0);
 	rb_define_method(rb_cPGresult, "stream_each_tuple", pgresult_stream_each_tuple, 0);
+
+	rb_define_method(rb_cPGresult, "field_name_type=", pgresult_field_name_type_set, 1 );
+	rb_define_method(rb_cPGresult, "field_name_type", pgresult_field_name_type_get, 0 );
 }
diff --git a/ext/pg_tuple.c b/ext/pg_tuple.c
index 29b98c1de..82a7ce2a4 100644
--- a/ext/pg_tuple.c
+++ b/ext/pg_tuple.c
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ pg_tuple_materialize(t_pg_tuple *this)
  * An integer +key+ is interpreted as column index.
  * Negative values of index count from the end of the array.
  *
- * A string +key+ is interpreted as column name.
+ * Depending on Result#field_name_type= a string or symbol +key+ is interpreted as column name.
  *
  * If the key can't be found, there are several options:
  * With no other arguments, it will raise a IndexError exception;
@@ -265,9 +265,16 @@ pg_tuple_fetch(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE self)
 
 /*
  * call-seq:
- *    res[ name ] -> value
+ *    tup[ key ] -> value
  *
- * Returns field _name_.
+ * Returns a field value by either column index or column name.
+ *
+ * An integer +key+ is interpreted as column index.
+ * Negative values of index count from the end of the array.
+ *
+ * Depending on Result#field_name_type= a string or symbol +key+ is interpreted as column name.
+ *
+ * If the key can't be found, it returns +nil+ .
  */
 static VALUE
 pg_tuple_aref(VALUE self, VALUE key)
diff --git a/lib/pg/result.rb b/lib/pg/result.rb
index 506339b89..007007c14 100644
--- a/lib/pg/result.rb
+++ b/lib/pg/result.rb
@@ -9,12 +9,23 @@ class PG::Result
 	#
 	# +type_map+: a PG::TypeMap instance.
 	#
-	# See PG::BasicTypeMapForResults
+	# This method is equal to #type_map= , but returns self, so that calls can be chained.
+	#
+	# See also PG::BasicTypeMapForResults
 	def map_types!(type_map)
 		self.type_map = type_map
 		return self
 	end
 
+	# Set the data type for all field name returning methods.
+	#
+	# +type+: a Symbol defining the field name type.
+	#
+	# This method is equal to #field_name_type= , but returns self, so that calls can be chained.
+	def field_names_as(type)
+		self.field_name_type = type
+		return self
+	end
 
 	### Return a String representation of the object suitable for debugging.
 	def inspect
diff --git a/pg.gemspec b/pg.gemspec
index fd5c9fe97..67ba80c2e 100644
--- a/pg.gemspec
+++ b/pg.gemspec
@@ -1,26 +1,26 @@
 # -*- encoding: utf-8 -*-
-# stub: pg 1.2.0.pre20181226130406 ruby lib
+# stub: pg 1.2.0.pre20191110215258 ruby lib
 # stub: ext/extconf.rb
 
 Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.name = "pg".freeze
-  s.version = "1.2.0.pre20181226130406"
+  s.version = "1.2.0.pre20191110215258"
 
   s.required_rubygems_version = Gem::Requirement.new("> 1.3.1".freeze) if s.respond_to? :required_rubygems_version=
   s.require_paths = ["lib".freeze]
   s.authors = ["Michael Granger".freeze, "Lars Kanis".freeze]
   s.cert_chain = ["certs/ged.pem".freeze]
-  s.date = "2018-12-26"
+  s.date = "2019-11-10"
   s.description = "Pg is the Ruby interface to the {PostgreSQL RDBMS}[http://www.postgresql.org/].\n\nIt works with {PostgreSQL 9.2 and later}[http://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning/].\n\nA small example usage:\n\n  #!/usr/bin/env ruby\n\n  require 'pg'\n\n  # Output a table of current connections to the DB\n  conn = PG.connect( dbname: 'sales' )\n  conn.exec( \"SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity\" ) do |result|\n    puts \"     PID | User             | Query\"\n    result.each do |row|\n      puts \" %7d | %-16s | %s \" %\n        row.values_at('procpid', 'usename', 'current_query')\n    end\n  end".freeze
   s.email = ["ged@FaerieMUD.org".freeze, "lars@greiz-reinsdorf.de".freeze]
   s.extensions = ["ext/extconf.rb".freeze]
-  s.extra_rdoc_files = ["Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "Manifest.txt".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.txt".freeze, "Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "POSTGRES".freeze, "LICENSE".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.c".freeze, "ext/pg.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_connection.c".freeze, "ext/pg_copy_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_errors.c".freeze, "ext/pg_result.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_tuple.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_all_strings.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_class.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_column.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_mri_type.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_oid.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_in_ruby.c".freeze, "ext/util.c".freeze]
-  s.files = ["BSDL".freeze, "ChangeLog".freeze, "Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "LICENSE".freeze, "Manifest.txt".freeze, "POSTGRES".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "Rakefile".freeze, "Rakefile.cross".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.def".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.rb".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.txt".freeze, "ext/extconf.rb".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.c".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.h".freeze, "ext/pg.c".freeze, "ext/pg.h".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_connection.c".freeze, "ext/pg_copy_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_errors.c".freeze, "ext/pg_result.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_tuple.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_all_strings.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_class.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_column.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_mri_type.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_oid.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_in_ruby.c".freeze, "ext/util.c".freeze, "ext/util.h".freeze, "ext/vc/pg.sln".freeze, "ext/vc/pg_18/pg.vcproj".freeze, "ext/vc/pg_19/pg_19.vcproj".freeze, "lib/pg.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/basic_type_mapping.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/binary_decoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/coder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/connection.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/constants.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/exceptions.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/result.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/text_decoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/text_encoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/tuple.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/type_map_by_column.rb".freeze, "spec/data/expected_trace.out".freeze, "spec/data/random_binary_data".freeze, "spec/helpers.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/basic_type_mapping_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/connection_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/connection_sync_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/result_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_class_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_column_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_mri_type_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_oid_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_in_ruby_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg_spec.rb".freeze]
+  s.extra_rdoc_files = ["Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "Manifest.txt".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.txt".freeze, "Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "POSTGRES".freeze, "LICENSE".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.c".freeze, "ext/pg.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_connection.c".freeze, "ext/pg_copy_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_errors.c".freeze, "ext/pg_record_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_result.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_tuple.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_all_strings.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_class.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_column.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_mri_type.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_oid.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_in_ruby.c".freeze, "ext/pg_util.c".freeze]
+  s.files = ["BSDL".freeze, "ChangeLog".freeze, "Contributors.rdoc".freeze, "History.rdoc".freeze, "LICENSE".freeze, "Manifest.txt".freeze, "POSTGRES".freeze, "README-OS_X.rdoc".freeze, "README-Windows.rdoc".freeze, "README.ja.rdoc".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze, "Rakefile".freeze, "Rakefile.cross".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.def".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.rb".freeze, "ext/errorcodes.txt".freeze, "ext/extconf.rb".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.c".freeze, "ext/gvl_wrappers.h".freeze, "ext/pg.c".freeze, "ext/pg.h".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_binary_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_connection.c".freeze, "ext/pg_copy_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_errors.c".freeze, "ext/pg_record_coder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_result.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_decoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_text_encoder.c".freeze, "ext/pg_tuple.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_all_strings.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_class.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_column.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_mri_type.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_by_oid.c".freeze, "ext/pg_type_map_in_ruby.c".freeze, "ext/pg_util.c".freeze, "ext/pg_util.h".freeze, "ext/vc/pg.sln".freeze, "ext/vc/pg_18/pg.vcproj".freeze, "ext/vc/pg_19/pg_19.vcproj".freeze, "lib/pg.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/basic_type_mapping.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/binary_decoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/coder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/connection.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/constants.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/exceptions.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/result.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/text_decoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/text_encoder.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/tuple.rb".freeze, "lib/pg/type_map_by_column.rb".freeze, "spec/data/expected_trace.out".freeze, "spec/data/random_binary_data".freeze, "spec/helpers.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/basic_type_mapping_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/connection_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/connection_sync_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/result_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_class_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_column_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_mri_type_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_by_oid_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_in_ruby_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_map_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg/type_spec.rb".freeze, "spec/pg_spec.rb".freeze]
   s.homepage = "https://github.com/ged/ruby-pg".freeze
-  s.licenses = ["BSD-2-Clause".freeze]
+  s.licenses = ["BSD-3-Clause".freeze]
   s.rdoc_options = ["--main".freeze, "README.rdoc".freeze]
-  s.required_ruby_version = Gem::Requirement.new(">= 2.0.0".freeze)
-  s.rubygems_version = "3.0.1".freeze
+  s.required_ruby_version = Gem::Requirement.new(">= 2.2".freeze)
+  s.rubygems_version = "3.0.3".freeze
   s.summary = "Pg is the Ruby interface to the {PostgreSQL RDBMS}[http://www.postgresql.org/]".freeze
 
   if s.respond_to? :specification_version then
diff --git a/spec/pg/connection_spec.rb b/spec/pg/connection_spec.rb
index 8246dc88f..f9d19a3d4 100644
--- a/spec/pg/connection_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/pg/connection_spec.rb
@@ -1824,6 +1824,40 @@
 		end
 	end
 
+	describe :field_name_type do
+		before :each do
+			@conn2 = PG.connect(@conninfo)
+		end
+		after :each do
+			@conn2.close
+		end
+
+		it "uses string field names per default" do
+			expect(@conn2.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+		end
+
+		it "can set string field names" do
+			@conn2.field_name_type = :string
+			expect(@conn2.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+			res = @conn2.exec("SELECT 1 as az")
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+			expect(res.fields).to eq(["az"])
+		end
+
+		it "can set symbol field names" do
+			@conn2.field_name_type = :symbol
+			expect(@conn2.field_name_type).to eq(:symbol)
+			res = @conn2.exec("SELECT 1 as az")
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:symbol)
+			expect(res.fields).to eq([:az])
+		end
+
+		it "can't set invalid values" do
+			expect{ @conn2.field_name_type = :sym }.to raise_error(ArgumentError, /invalid argument :sym/)
+			expect{ @conn2.field_name_type = "symbol" }.to raise_error(ArgumentError, /invalid argument "symbol"/)
+		end
+	end
+
 	describe "deprecated forms of methods" do
 		it "should forward exec to exec_params" do
 			res = @conn.exec("VALUES($1::INT)", [7]).values
diff --git a/spec/pg/result_spec.rb b/spec/pg/result_spec.rb
index 77b80524e..b01cfa81c 100644
--- a/spec/pg/result_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/pg/result_spec.rb
@@ -9,12 +9,60 @@
 
 describe PG::Result do
 
+	describe :field_name_type do
+		let!(:res) { @conn.exec('SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS "B"') }
+
+		it "uses string field names per default" do
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+		end
+
+		it "can set string field names" do
+			res.field_name_type = :string
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+		end
+
+		it "can set symbol field names" do
+			res.field_name_type = :symbol
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:symbol)
+		end
+
+		it "can set static_symbol field names" do
+			res.field_name_type = :static_symbol
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:static_symbol)
+		end
+
+		it "can't set symbol field names after #fields" do
+			res.fields
+			expect{ res.field_name_type = :symbol }.to raise_error(ArgumentError, /already materialized/)
+			expect(res.field_name_type).to eq(:string)
+		end
+
+		it "can't set invalid values" do
+			expect{ res.field_name_type = :sym }.to raise_error(ArgumentError, /invalid argument :sym/)
+			expect{ res.field_name_type = "symbol" }.to raise_error(ArgumentError, /invalid argument "symbol"/)
+		end
+	end
+
 	it "acts as an array of hashes" do
 		res = @conn.exec("SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS b")
 		expect( res[0]['a'] ).to eq( '1' )
 		expect( res[0]['b'] ).to eq( '2' )
 	end
 
+	it "acts as an array of hashes with symbols" do
+		res = @conn.exec("SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS b")
+		res.field_name_type = :symbol
+		expect( res[0][:a] ).to eq( '1' )
+		expect( res[0][:b] ).to eq( '2' )
+	end
+
+	it "acts as an array of hashes with static_symbols" do
+		res = @conn.exec("SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS b")
+		res.field_name_type = :static_symbol
+		expect( res[0][:a] ).to eq( '1' )
+		expect( res[0][:b] ).to eq( '2' )
+	end
+
 	it "yields a row as an array" do
 		res = @conn.exec("SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS b")
 		list = []
@@ -38,7 +86,15 @@
 		expect( e.to_a ).to eq [{'a'=>'1', 'b'=>'2'}]
 	end
 
+	it "yields a row as an Enumerator of hashs with symbols" do
+		res = @conn.exec("SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS b")
+		res.field_name_type = :symbol
+		expect( res.each.to_a ).to eq [{:a=>'1', :b=>'2'}]
+	end
+
 	context "result streaming in single row mode" do
+		let!(:textdec_int){ PG::TextDecoder::Integer.new name: 'INT4', oid: 23 }
+
 		it "can iterate over all rows as Hash" do
 			@conn.send_query( "SELECT generate_series(2,4) AS a; SELECT 1 AS b, generate_series(5,6) AS c" )
 			@conn.set_single_row_mode
@@ -55,6 +111,19 @@
 			expect( @conn.get_result ).to be_nil
 		end
 
+		it "can iterate over all rows as Hash with symbols and typemap" do
+			@conn.send_query( "SELECT generate_series(2,4) AS a" )
+			@conn.set_single_row_mode
+			res = @conn.get_result.field_names_as(:symbol)
+			res.type_map = PG::TypeMapByColumn.new [textdec_int]
+			expect(
+				res.stream_each.to_a
+			).to eq(
+				[{:a=>2}, {:a=>3}, {:a=>4}]
+			)
+			expect( @conn.get_result ).to be_nil
+		end
+
 		it "keeps last result on error while iterating stream_each" do
 			@conn.send_query( "SELECT generate_series(2,4) AS a" )
 			@conn.set_single_row_mode
@@ -130,6 +199,17 @@
 			expect( tuple1.keys[0].object_id ).to eq(tuple2.keys[0].object_id)
 		end
 
+		it "can iterate over all rows as PG::Tuple with symbols and typemap" do
+			@conn.send_query( "SELECT generate_series(2,4) AS a" )
+			@conn.set_single_row_mode
+			res = @conn.get_result.field_names_as(:symbol)
+			res.type_map = PG::TypeMapByColumn.new [textdec_int]
+			tuples = res.stream_each_tuple.to_a
+			expect( tuples[0][0] ).to eq( 2 )
+			expect( tuples[1][:a] ).to eq( 3 )
+			expect( @conn.get_result ).to be_nil
+		end
+
 		it "complains when not in single row mode" do
 			@conn.send_query( "SELECT generate_series(2,4)" )
 			expect{
@@ -300,6 +380,32 @@
 		expect( res.values ).to eq( [ ["bar"], ["bar2"] ] )
 	end
 
+	it "can retrieve field names" do
+		res = @conn.exec('SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS "B"')
+		expect(res.fields).to eq(["a", "B"])
+	end
+
+	it "can retrieve field names as symbols" do
+		res = @conn.exec('SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS "B"')
+		res.field_name_type = :symbol
+		expect(res.fields).to eq([:a, :B])
+	end
+
+	it "can retrieve single field names" do
+		res = @conn.exec('SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS "B"')
+		expect(res.fname(0)).to eq("a")
+		expect(res.fname(1)).to eq("B")
+		expect{res.fname(2)}.to raise_error(ArgumentError)
+	end
+
+	it "can retrieve single field names as symbol" do
+		res = @conn.exec('SELECT 1 AS a, 2 AS "B"')
+		res.field_name_type = :symbol
+		expect(res.fname(0)).to eq(:a)
+		expect(res.fname(1)).to eq(:B)
+		expect{res.fname(2)}.to raise_error(ArgumentError)
+	end
+
 	# PQfmod
 	it "can return the type modifier for a result column" do
 		@conn.exec( 'CREATE TABLE fmodtest ( foo varchar(33) )' )
@@ -397,8 +503,9 @@
 		res = @conn.exec( "SELECT 1 AS x, 'a' AS y UNION ALL SELECT 2, 'b'" )
 		expect( res.field_values('x') ).to eq( ['1', '2'] )
 		expect( res.field_values('y') ).to eq( ['a', 'b'] )
+		expect( res.field_values(:x) ).to eq( ['1', '2'] )
 		expect{ res.field_values('') }.to raise_error(IndexError)
-		expect{ res.field_values(:x) }.to raise_error(TypeError)
+		expect{ res.field_values(0) }.to raise_error(TypeError)
 	end
 
 	it "can return the values of a single tuple" do
@@ -519,6 +626,7 @@
 			expect( res.enum_for(:each).to_a ).to eq( [{'f' => 123}] )
 			expect( res.column_values(0) ).to eq( [123] )
 			expect( res.field_values('f') ).to eq( [123] )
+			expect( res.field_values(:f) ).to eq( [123] )
 			expect( res.tuple_values(0) ).to eq( [123] )
 		end
 
diff --git a/spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb b/spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb
index f5b4676dc..2d100299a 100644
--- a/spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/pg/tuple_spec.rb
@@ -8,10 +8,22 @@
 describe PG::Tuple do
 	let!(:typemap) { PG::BasicTypeMapForResults.new(@conn) }
 	let!(:result2x2) { @conn.exec( "VALUES(1, 'a'), (2, 'b')" ) }
-	let!(:result2x3cast) { @conn.exec( "SELECT * FROM (VALUES(1, TRUE, '3'), (2, FALSE, '4')) AS m (a, b, b)" ).map_types!(typemap) }
+	let!(:result2x2sym) { @conn.exec( "VALUES(1, 'a'), (2, 'b')" ).field_names_as(:symbol) }
+	let!(:result2x3cast) do
+		@conn.exec( "SELECT * FROM (VALUES(1, TRUE, '3'), (2, FALSE, '4')) AS m (a, b, b)" )
+			.map_types!(typemap)
+	end
+	let!(:result2x3symcast) do
+		@conn.exec( "SELECT * FROM (VALUES(1, TRUE, '3'), (2, FALSE, '4')) AS m (a, b, b)" )
+			.map_types!(typemap)
+			.field_names_as(:symbol)
+	end
 	let!(:tuple0) { result2x2.tuple(0) }
+	let!(:tuple0sym) { result2x2sym.tuple(0) }
 	let!(:tuple1) { result2x2.tuple(1) }
+	let!(:tuple1sym) { result2x2sym.tuple(1) }
 	let!(:tuple2) { result2x3cast.tuple(0) }
+	let!(:tuple2sym) { result2x3symcast.tuple(0) }
 	let!(:tuple3) { str = Marshal.dump(result2x3cast.tuple(1)); Marshal.load(str) }
 	let!(:tuple_empty) { PG::Tuple.new }
 
@@ -51,9 +63,19 @@
 			expect( tuple0["column2"] ).to eq( "a" )
 			expect( tuple2["a"] ).to eq( 1 )
 			expect( tuple2["b"] ).to eq( "3" )
+			expect( tuple0[:b] ).to be_nil
 			expect( tuple0["x"] ).to be_nil
 		end
 
+		it "supports hash like access with symbols" do
+			expect( tuple0sym[:column1] ).to eq( "1" )
+			expect( tuple0sym[:column2] ).to eq( "a" )
+			expect( tuple2sym[:a] ).to eq( 1 )
+			expect( tuple2sym[:b] ).to eq( "3" )
+			expect( tuple2sym["b"] ).to be_nil
+			expect( tuple0sym[:x] ).to be_nil
+		end
+
 		it "casts lazy and caches result" do
 			a = []
 			deco = Class.new(PG::SimpleDecoder) do
@@ -138,6 +160,12 @@
 			expect{ tuple_empty.each }.to raise_error(TypeError)
 		end
 
+		it "can be used as an enumerator with symbols" do
+			expect( tuple0sym.each ).to be_kind_of(Enumerator)
+			expect( tuple0sym.each.to_a ).to eq( [[:column1, "1"], [:column2, "a"]] )
+			expect( tuple2sym.each.to_a ).to eq( [[:a, 1], [:b, true], [:b, "3"]] )
+		end
+
 		it "can be used with block" do
 			a = []
 			tuple0.each do |*v|
@@ -174,16 +202,30 @@
 
 	it "responds to key?" do
 		expect( tuple1.key?("column1") ).to eq( true )
+		expect( tuple1.key?(:column1) ).to eq( false )
 		expect( tuple1.key?("other") ).to eq( false )
 		expect( tuple1.has_key?("column1") ).to eq( true )
 		expect( tuple1.has_key?("other") ).to eq( false )
 	end
 
+	it "responds to key? as symbol" do
+		expect( tuple1sym.key?(:column1) ).to eq( true )
+		expect( tuple1sym.key?("column1") ).to eq( false )
+		expect( tuple1sym.key?(:other) ).to eq( false )
+		expect( tuple1sym.has_key?(:column1) ).to eq( true )
+		expect( tuple1sym.has_key?(:other) ).to eq( false )
+	end
+
 	it "responds to keys" do
 		expect( tuple0.keys ).to eq( ["column1", "column2"] )
 		expect( tuple2.keys ).to eq( ["a", "b", "b"] )
 	end
 
+	it "responds to keys as symbol" do
+		expect( tuple0sym.keys ).to eq( [:column1, :column2] )
+		expect( tuple2sym.keys ).to eq( [:a, :b, :b] )
+	end
+
 	describe "each_key" do
 		it "can be used as an enumerator" do
 			expect( tuple0.each_key ).to be_kind_of(Enumerator)
@@ -208,12 +250,22 @@
 
 	it "responds to index" do
 		expect( tuple0.index("column1") ).to eq( 0 )
+		expect( tuple0.index(:column1) ).to eq( nil )
 		expect( tuple0.index("column2") ).to eq( 1 )
 		expect( tuple0.index("x") ).to eq( nil )
 		expect( tuple2.index("a") ).to eq( 0 )
 		expect( tuple2.index("b") ).to eq( 2 )
 	end
 
+	it "responds to index with symbol" do
+		expect( tuple0sym.index(:column1) ).to eq( 0 )
+		expect( tuple0sym.index("column1") ).to eq( nil )
+		expect( tuple0sym.index(:column2) ).to eq( 1 )
+		expect( tuple0sym.index(:x) ).to eq( nil )
+		expect( tuple2sym.index(:a) ).to eq( 0 )
+		expect( tuple2sym.index(:b) ).to eq( 2 )
+	end
+
 	it "can be used as Enumerable" do
 		expect( tuple0.to_a ).to eq( [["column1", "1"], ["column2", "a"]] )
 		expect( tuple1.to_a ).to eq( [["column1", "2"], ["column2", "b"]] )
@@ -222,7 +274,7 @@
 	end
 
 	it "can be marshaled" do
-		[tuple0, tuple1, tuple2, tuple3].each do |t1|
+		[tuple0, tuple1, tuple2, tuple3, tuple0sym, tuple2sym].each do |t1|
 			str = Marshal.dump(t1)
 			t2 = Marshal.load(str)
 
@@ -253,6 +305,7 @@
 	it "should override #inspect" do
 		expect( tuple1.inspect ).to eq('#<PG::Tuple column1: "2", column2: "b">')
 		expect( tuple2.inspect ).to eq('#<PG::Tuple a: 1, b: true, b: "3">')
+		expect( tuple2sym.inspect ).to eq('#<PG::Tuple a: 1, b: true, b: "3">')
 		expect{ tuple_empty.inspect }.to raise_error(TypeError)
 	end