diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index e16f565d491fe..09a1494135af4 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 project(
     'pandas',
     'c', 'cpp', 'cython',
-    version: run_command(['python3', 'generate_version.py', '--print'], check: true).stdout().strip(),
+    version: run_command(['python', 'generate_version.py', '--print'], check: true).stdout().strip(),
     license: 'BSD-3',
     meson_version: '>=1.0.1',
     default_options: [