diff --git a/docs/markdown/Reference-tables.md b/docs/markdown/Reference-tables.md
index b553832eb..377b36286 100644
--- a/docs/markdown/Reference-tables.md
+++ b/docs/markdown/Reference-tables.md
@@ -175,7 +175,8 @@ Native names as returned by the `.kernel()` method.
 | netbsd  | |
 | nt      | |
 | xnu                 | Kernel of various Apple OSes    |
-| sunos | |
+| illumos             | Kernel derived from OpenSolaris by community efforts |
+| solaris             | Kernel derived from OpenSolaris by Oracle |
 | dragonfly | |
 | haiku| |
 | none                 | For e.g. bare metal embedded    |
diff --git a/mesonbuild/environment.py b/mesonbuild/environment.py
index 688070f4a..ff7ae3ae9 100644
--- a/mesonbuild/environment.py
+++ b/mesonbuild/environment.py
@@ -403,12 +403,23 @@ KERNEL_MAPPINGS: T.Mapping[str, str] = {'freebsd': 'freebsd',
                                         'linux': 'linux',
                                         'cygwin': 'nt',
                                         'darwin': 'xnu',
-                                        'sunos': 'sunos',
                                         'dragonfly': 'dragonfly',
                                         'haiku': 'haiku',
                                         }
 
 def detect_kernel(system: str) -> T.Optional[str]:
+    if system == 'sunos':
+        # This needs to be /usr/bin/uname because gnu-uname could be installed and
+        # won't provide the necessary information
+        p, out, _ = Popen_safe(['/usr/bin/uname', '-o'])
+        if p.returncode != 0:
+            raise MesonException('Failed to run "/usr/bin/uname -o"')
+        out = out.lower().strip()
+        if out not in {'illumos', 'solaris'}:
+            mlog.warning(f'Got an unexpected value for kernel on a SunOS derived platform, expcted either "illumos" or "solaris", but got "{out}".'
+                         "Please open a Meson issue with the OS you're running and the value detected for your kernel.")
+            return None
+        return out
     return KERNEL_MAPPINGS.get(system, None)
 
 def detect_subsystem(system: str) -> T.Optional[str]: