diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
index 7a2bfd9e7..747e396af 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ export { newFnCtx, type FnCtx } from "./function-context.js";
  * - Lexical scoping is resolved here: locals get function-unique ids
  *   ("x.0", "x.1" for shadowing); the IR is scope-flat.
  */
-import { dirname, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { dirname, relative, resolve } from "node:path";
 import { bindingSource } from "../binding-source.js";
 import { tsgoPath } from "../dts-paths.js";
 import * as ts from "../ts7/adapter.js";
@@ -3192,12 +3192,14 @@ export class Lowerer {
   errorPropertyDispatchRevision: string | null = null;
   /** Structural source positions (structural-positions.ts) for names that
    * stay the same when unrelated code moves. */
-  /** Default library files are named by their base name: two checkers
-   * install them in different directories. */
+  /** Files are named by their path relative to the entry's directory, so
+   * names do not depend on where the program sits, and default library
+   * files by their base name: two checkers install them in different
+   * directories. */
   readonly positions = new StructuralPositions((sf) =>
     this.program.isSourceFileDefaultLibrary(sf)
       ? `lib:${sf.fileName.slice(sf.fileName.lastIndexOf("/") + 1)}`
-      : sf.fileName,
+      : relative(dirname(this.entry.fileName), sf.fileName),
   );
 
   /** The outermost node whose token span is exactly `loc`, or null. */
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/stable-names.test.ts b/packages/compiler/test/stable-names.test.ts
index 720472556..c82db039d 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/test/stable-names.test.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/stable-names.test.ts
@@ -110,3 +110,10 @@ console.log(box.value);
   expect(locals).toHaveLength(2);
   expect(locals[0]!.name).not.toBe(locals[1]!.name);
 });
+
+test("names do not depend on the directory the program sits in", async () => {
+  // Each call lowers in its own temporary directory.
+  const [first] = await lower(recursive);
+  const [second] = await lower(recursive);
+  expect(names(second!)).toEqual(names(first!));
+});