diff --git a/docs/Tags.md b/docs/Tags.md
index 63e95889c..1852fe9a1 100644
--- a/docs/Tags.md
+++ b/docs/Tags.md
@@ -213,9 +213,10 @@ having exactly those 3 elements) would be listed as: `Array(String, Fixnum, Hash
 Some literals are accepted by virtue of being Ruby literals, but also by YARD
 conventions. Here is a non-exhaustive list of certain accepted literal values:
 
-* `true`, `false`, `nil` — used when a method returns these explicit literal
-  values. Note that if your method returns both `true` or `false`, you should use
-  the `Boolean` conventional type instead.
+* `true`, `false`, `nil`, `:foo` — used when a method returns
+  these explicit literal values. Note that if your method returns both
+  `true` or `false`, you should use the `Boolean` conventional type
+  instead.
 * `self` — has the same meaning as Ruby's "self" keyword in the context of
   parameters or return types. Recommended mostly for {tag:return} tags that are
   chainable.
@@ -280,4 +281,3 @@ Note that you might not need a tag title if you are hiding it. The title
 part can be omitted.
 
 {yard:include_tags}
-
diff --git a/lib/yard/code_objects/base.rb b/lib/yard/code_objects/base.rb
index 561481317..83aa0c012 100644
--- a/lib/yard/code_objects/base.rb
+++ b/lib/yard/code_objects/base.rb
@@ -57,8 +57,10 @@ def push(value)
     # Regular expression to match namespaces (const A or complex path A::B)
     NAMESPACEMATCH = /(?:(?:#{NSEPQ}\s*)?#{CONSTANTMATCH})+/
 
-    # Regular expression to match a method name
-    METHODNAMEMATCH = %r{[a-zA-Z_]\w*[!?=]?|[-+~]\@|<<|>>|=~|===?|![=~]?|<=>|[<>]=?|\*\*|[-/+%^&*~`|]|\[\]=?}
+    # Regular expression to match an identifier like a variable or method name
+    IDENTIFIERMATCH = %r{[a-zA-Z_]\w*[!?=]?|[-+~]\@|<<|>>|=~|===?|![=~]?|<=>|[<>]=?|\*\*|[-/+%^&*~`|]|\[\]=?}
+
+    METHODNAMEMATCH = IDENTIFIERMATCH
 
     # Regular expression to match a fully qualified method def (self.foo, Class.foo).
     METHODMATCH = /(?:(?:#{NAMESPACEMATCH}|[a-z]\w*)\s*(?:#{CSEPQ}|#{NSEPQ})\s*)?#{METHODNAMEMATCH}/
diff --git a/lib/yard/tags/types_explainer.rb b/lib/yard/tags/types_explainer.rb
index d87657665..3fc1dba82 100644
--- a/lib/yard/tags/types_explainer.rb
+++ b/lib/yard/tags/types_explainer.rb
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ class Parser
           :fixed_collection_start => /\(/,
           :fixed_collection_end => /\)/,
           :type_name => /#{ISEP}#{METHODNAMEMATCH}|#{NAMESPACEMATCH}|\w+/,
+          :symbol => /:#{IDENTIFIERMATCH}/,
           :type_next => /[,;]/,
           :whitespace => /\s+/,
           :hash_collection_start => /\{/,
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ def parse
               next unless (match.nil? && @scanner.eos?) || (match && token = @scanner.scan(match))
               found = true
               case token_type
-              when :type_name
+              when :type_name, :symbol
                 raise SyntaxError, "expecting END, got name '#{token}'" if name
                 name = token
               when :type_next
diff --git a/spec/docstring_parser_spec.rb b/spec/docstring_parser_spec.rb
index 1d6a9d33c..ac50adc88 100644
--- a/spec/docstring_parser_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/docstring_parser_spec.rb
@@ -251,6 +251,15 @@ def foo(a) end
       eof
     end
 
+    it "does not warn on constant values" do
+      expect(log).to_not receive(:warn)
+      YARD.parse_string <<-eof
+        # @param [false, true, nil, 4, :foo] a
+        # @return [void]
+        def self.bar(a); end
+      eof
+    end
+
     it "warns on mismatching param with inline method modifier" do
       expect(log).to receive(:warn).with(/@param tag has unknown parameter name: notaparam/)
       YARD.parse_string <<-eof
diff --git a/spec/tags/types_explainer_spec.rb b/spec/tags/types_explainer_spec.rb
index 8075790de..16d046c97 100644
--- a/spec/tags/types_explainer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/tags/types_explainer_spec.rb
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def parse_fail(types)
     end
 
     it "works for a constant value" do
-      ['false', 'true', 'nil', '4'].each do |name|
+      ['false', 'true', 'nil', '4', ':foo'].each do |name|
         @t.name = name
         expect(@t.to_s).to eq name
         expect(@t.to_s(false)).to eq name
@@ -154,6 +154,11 @@ def parse_fail(types)
       expect(type.first.name).to eq "Hash"
     end
 
+    it "parses constant values" do
+      type = parse("false, true, nil, 4, :foo")
+      expect(type.map(&:name)).to eq ['false', 'true', 'nil', '4', ':foo']
+    end
+
     it "does not accept two commas in a row" do
       parse_fail "A,,B"
     end