diff --git a/lib/debug/variable_inspector.rb b/lib/debug/variable_inspector.rb
index c304bcc44..084a13b1f 100644
--- a/lib/debug/variable_inspector.rb
+++ b/lib/debug/variable_inspector.rb
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def indexed_members_of obj, start:, count:
 
     def named_members_of obj
       members = case obj
-      when Hash then obj.map { |k, v| Member.new(name: value_inspect(k), value: v) }
+      when Hash then obj.map { |k, v| Member.new(name: inspect_hash_key(k), value: v) }
       when Struct then obj.members.map { |name| Member.new(name:, value: obj[name]) }
       when String
         members = [
@@ -77,6 +77,13 @@ def named_members_of obj
 
     private
 
+    def inspect_hash_key(key)
+      # Special-case for symbols so debugger UIs render `a: 1` instead of two colons like `:a: 1`
+      return key.to_s if key.is_a?(Symbol)
+
+      value_inspect(key)
+    end
+
     MAX_LENGTH = 180
 
     def value_inspect obj, short: true
diff --git a/test/debug/variable_inspector_test.rb b/test/debug/variable_inspector_test.rb
index 8419687b9..6025038a8 100644
--- a/test/debug/variable_inspector_test.rb
+++ b/test/debug/variable_inspector_test.rb
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def test_named_members_of_hash
 
       expected = [
         Member.internal(name: '#class', value: Hash),
-        Member.new(name: ':sym', value: "has Symbol key"),
+        Member.new(name: 'sym', value: "has Symbol key"),
         Member.new(name: '"str"', value: "has String key"),
         Member.new(name: '1', value: "has Integer key"),
       ]