diff --git a/lib/misc/lvm-string.c b/lib/misc/lvm-string.c
index 05d168a75..f9cba31a5 100644
--- a/lib/misc/lvm-string.c
+++ b/lib/misc/lvm-string.c
@@ -118,6 +118,14 @@ void copy_valid_chars(const char *src, char *dst)
 	if (!s || !*s)
 		return;
 
+	/* Omit leading hypens. */
+	for (i = 0; i < strlen(src); i++) {
+		c = *s;
+		if (c != '-')
+			break;
+		s++;
+	}
+
 	for (i = 0; i < strlen(src); i++) {
 		c = *s;