diff --git a/demos/subst/wscript b/demos/subst/wscript
index 521bed2c..0d6dab82 100644
--- a/demos/subst/wscript
+++ b/demos/subst/wscript
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def build(bld):
 		features     = 'subst', # the feature 'subst' overrides the source/target processing
 		source       = 'foo.in', # list of string or nodes
 		target       = 'foo.txt', # list of strings or nodes
-		encoding     = 'ascii', # file encoding for python3, default is ISO8859-1
+		encoding     = 'ascii', # file encoding for python3, default is latin-1
 		install_path = '/tmp/uff/', # installation path, optional
 		chmod        = Utils.O755, # installation mode, optional
 		PREFIX       = bld.env.PREFIX, # variables to use in the substitution
diff --git a/playground/cuda/wscript b/playground/cuda/wscript
index f2592536..64053112 100644
--- a/playground/cuda/wscript
+++ b/playground/cuda/wscript
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
-# encoding: ISO8859-1
+# encoding: utf-8
 # Thomas Nagy, 2010
 
 top = '.'
diff --git a/playground/cython/wscript b/playground/cython/wscript
index 9b344726..1cdd8a41 100644
--- a/playground/cython/wscript
+++ b/playground/cython/wscript
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
-# encoding: ISO8859-1
+# encoding: utf-8
 # Thomas Nagy, 2010
 
 from waflib import Logs
diff --git a/utils/verify-sig.py b/utils/verify-sig.py
index 950a4972..b555add2 100755
--- a/utils/verify-sig.py
+++ b/utils/verify-sig.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 #! /usr/bin/env python
-# encoding: ISO8859-1
+# encoding: utf-8
 # Thomas Nagy, 2014-2015
 
 """
 A simple file for verifying signatures in signed waf files
-This script is meant for Python >= 2.6 and the encoding is bytes - ISO8859-1
+This script is meant for Python >= 2.6 and the encoding is bytes - latin-1
 
 Distributing detached signatures is boring
 """
@@ -33,14 +33,14 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
 	try:
 		txt = f.read()
 
-		lastline = txt.decode('ISO8859-1').splitlines()[-1] # just the last line
+		lastline = txt.decode('latin-1').splitlines()[-1] # just the last line
 		if not lastline.startswith('#-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----'):
 			print("ERROR: there is no signature to verify in %r :-/" % infile)
 			sys.exit(1)
 
 		sigtext = lastline.replace('\\n', '\n') # convert newlines
 		sigtext = sigtext[1:] # omit the '# character'
-		sigtext = sigtext.encode('ISO8859-1') # python3
+		sigtext = sigtext.encode('latin-1') # python3
 
 		f2.write(sigtext)
 		f1.write(txt[:-len(lastline) - 1]) # one newline character was eaten from splitlines()
diff --git a/waf-light b/waf-light
index dbe1a0e6..fdd44509 100755
--- a/waf-light
+++ b/waf-light
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
-# encoding: ISO8859-1
+# encoding: latin-1
 # Thomas Nagy, 2005-2016
 #
 """
diff --git a/waflib/Context.py b/waflib/Context.py
index 3194b678..d5063237 100644
--- a/waflib/Context.py
+++ b/waflib/Context.py
@@ -355,14 +355,14 @@ class Context(ctx):
 
 		if out:
 			if not isinstance(out, str):
-				out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1', errors='replace')
+				out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1', errors='replace')
 			if self.logger:
 				self.logger.debug('out: %s', out)
 			else:
 				Logs.info(out, extra={'stream':sys.stdout, 'c1': ''})
 		if err:
 			if not isinstance(err, str):
-				err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1', errors='replace')
+				err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1', errors='replace')
 			if self.logger:
 				self.logger.error('err: %s' % err)
 			else:
@@ -440,9 +440,9 @@ class Context(ctx):
 			raise Errors.WafError('Execution failure: %s' % str(e), ex=e)
 
 		if not isinstance(out, str):
-			out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1', errors='replace')
+			out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1', errors='replace')
 		if not isinstance(err, str):
-			err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1', errors='replace')
+			err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1', errors='replace')
 
 		if out and quiet != STDOUT and quiet != BOTH:
 			self.to_log('out: %s' % out)
diff --git a/waflib/Node.py b/waflib/Node.py
index 5e5bf471..44a23354 100644
--- a/waflib/Node.py
+++ b/waflib/Node.py
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ class Node(object):
 		"""
 		raise Errors.WafError('nodes are not supposed to be copied')
 
-	def read(self, flags='r', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+	def read(self, flags='r', encoding='latin-1'):
 		"""
 		Reads and returns the contents of the file represented by this node, see :py:func:`waflib.Utils.readf`::
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class Node(object):
 		"""
 		return Utils.readf(self.abspath(), flags, encoding)
 
-	def write(self, data, flags='w', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+	def write(self, data, flags='w', encoding='latin-1'):
 		"""
 		Writes data to the file represented by this node, see :py:func:`waflib.Utils.writef`::
 
diff --git a/waflib/Task.py b/waflib/Task.py
index 53175edf..b29365a5 100644
--- a/waflib/Task.py
+++ b/waflib/Task.py
@@ -863,10 +863,10 @@ if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000:
 		try:
 			return self.uid_
 		except AttributeError:
-			m = Utils.md5(self.__class__.__name__.encode('iso8859-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace'))
+			m = Utils.md5(self.__class__.__name__.encode('latin-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace'))
 			up = m.update
 			for x in self.inputs + self.outputs:
-				up(x.abspath().encode('iso8859-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace'))
+				up(x.abspath().encode('latin-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace'))
 			self.uid_ = m.digest()
 			return self.uid_
 	uid.__doc__ = Task.uid.__doc__
diff --git a/waflib/TaskGen.py b/waflib/TaskGen.py
index 35a8f562..63c87517 100644
--- a/waflib/TaskGen.py
+++ b/waflib/TaskGen.py
@@ -723,11 +723,11 @@ class subst_pc(Task.Task):
 				self.force_permissions()
 			return ret
 
-		code = self.inputs[0].read(encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'ISO8859-1'))
+		code = self.inputs[0].read(encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'latin-1'))
 		if getattr(self.generator, 'subst_fun', None):
 			code = self.generator.subst_fun(self, code)
 			if code is not None:
-				self.outputs[0].write(code, encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'ISO8859-1'))
+				self.outputs[0].write(code, encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'latin-1'))
 			self.force_permissions()
 			return None
 
@@ -758,7 +758,7 @@ class subst_pc(Task.Task):
 				d[x] = tmp
 
 		code = code % d
-		self.outputs[0].write(code, encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'ISO8859-1'))
+		self.outputs[0].write(code, encoding=getattr(self.generator, 'encoding', 'latin-1'))
 		self.generator.bld.raw_deps[self.uid()] = lst
 
 		# make sure the signature is updated
diff --git a/waflib/Tools/c_tests.py b/waflib/Tools/c_tests.py
index 6e5f8213..f7ddcf5b 100644
--- a/waflib/Tools/c_tests.py
+++ b/waflib/Tools/c_tests.py
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ class grep_for_endianness(Task.Task):
 	"""
 	color = 'PINK'
 	def run(self):
-		txt = self.inputs[0].read(flags='rb').decode('iso8859-1')
+		txt = self.inputs[0].read(flags='rb').decode('latin-1')
 		if txt.find('LiTTleEnDian') > -1:
 			self.generator.tmp.append('little')
 		elif txt.find('BIGenDianSyS') > -1:
diff --git a/waflib/Utils.py b/waflib/Utils.py
index 627785d8..eb000d80 100644
--- a/waflib/Utils.py
+++ b/waflib/Utils.py
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ is_win32 = os.sep == '\\' or sys.platform == 'win32' # msys2
 Whether this system is a Windows series
 """
 
-def readf(fname, m='r', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+def readf(fname, m='r', encoding='latin-1'):
 	"""
 	Reads an entire file into a string. See also :py:meth:`waflib.Node.Node.readf`::
 
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def readf(fname, m='r', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
 			f.close()
 	return txt
 
-def writef(fname, data, m='w', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+def writef(fname, data, m='w', encoding='latin-1'):
 	"""
 	Writes an entire file from a string.
 	See also :py:meth:`waflib.Node.Node.writef`::
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ def h_file(fname):
 		f.close()
 	return m.digest()
 
-def readf_win32(f, m='r', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+def readf_win32(f, m='r', encoding='latin-1'):
 	flags = os.O_NOINHERIT | os.O_RDONLY
 	if 'b' in m:
 		flags |= os.O_BINARY
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ def readf_win32(f, m='r', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
 			f.close()
 	return txt
 
-def writef_win32(f, data, m='w', encoding='ISO8859-1'):
+def writef_win32(f, data, m='w', encoding='latin-1'):
 	if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000 and not 'b' in m:
 		data = data.encode(encoding)
 		m += 'b'
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ def split_path_msys(path):
 		global msysroot
 		if not msysroot:
 			# msys has python 2.7 or 3, so we can use this
-			msysroot = subprocess.check_output(['cygpath', '-w', '/']).decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1')
+			msysroot = subprocess.check_output(['cygpath', '-w', '/']).decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1')
 			msysroot = msysroot.strip()
 		path = os.path.normpath(msysroot + os.sep + path)
 	return split_path_win32(path)
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ def h_cmd(ins):
 		# or just a python function
 		ret = str(h_fun(ins))
 	if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000:
-		ret = ret.encode('iso8859-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace')
+		ret = ret.encode('latin-1', 'xmlcharrefreplace')
 	return ret
 
 reg_subst = re.compile(r"(\\\\)|(\$\$)|\$\{([^}]+)\}")
diff --git a/waflib/extras/c_emscripten.py b/waflib/extras/c_emscripten.py
index ecdaf2e4..e1ac494f 100644
--- a/waflib/extras/c_emscripten.py
+++ b/waflib/extras/c_emscripten.py
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def get_emscripten_version(conf, cc):
 		conf.fatal('Could not determine emscripten version %r: %s' % (cmd, e))
 
 	if not isinstance(out, str):
-		out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1')
+		out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1')
 
 	k = {}
 	out = out.splitlines()
diff --git a/waflib/extras/codelite.py b/waflib/extras/codelite.py
index 2aef4e3e..d24bb0f6 100644
--- a/waflib/extras/codelite.py
+++ b/waflib/extras/codelite.py
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ def rm_blank_lines(txt):
 
 BOM = '\xef\xbb\xbf'
 try:
-        BOM = bytes(BOM, 'iso8859-1') # python 3
+        BOM = bytes(BOM, 'latin-1') # python 3
 except (TypeError, NameError):
         pass
 
diff --git a/waflib/extras/msvs.py b/waflib/extras/msvs.py
index 18d6b415..87872612 100644
--- a/waflib/extras/msvs.py
+++ b/waflib/extras/msvs.py
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ def rm_blank_lines(txt):
 
 BOM = '\xef\xbb\xbf'
 try:
-	BOM = bytes(BOM, 'iso8859-1') # python 3
+	BOM = bytes(BOM, 'latin-1') # python 3
 except TypeError:
 	pass
 
diff --git a/waflib/extras/netcache_client.py b/waflib/extras/netcache_client.py
index 5ae19692..71609570 100644
--- a/waflib/extras/netcache_client.py
+++ b/waflib/extras/netcache_client.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ all_sigs_in_cache = (0.0, [])
 
 def put_data(conn, data):
 	if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000:
-		data = data.encode('iso8859-1')
+		data = data.encode('latin-1')
 	cnt = 0
 	while cnt < len(data):
 		sent = conn.send(data[cnt:])
@@ -107,8 +107,8 @@ def read_header(conn):
 		buf.append(data)
 		cnt += len(data)
 	if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000:
-		ret = ''.encode('iso8859-1').join(buf)
-		ret = ret.decode('iso8859-1')
+		ret = ''.encode('latin-1').join(buf)
+		ret = ret.decode('latin-1')
 	else:
 		ret = ''.join(buf)
 	return ret
@@ -140,8 +140,8 @@ def check_cache(conn, ssig):
 			cnt += len(data)
 
 		if sys.hexversion > 0x3000000:
-			ret = ''.encode('iso8859-1').join(buf)
-			ret = ret.decode('iso8859-1')
+			ret = ''.encode('latin-1').join(buf)
+			ret = ret.decode('latin-1')
 		else:
 			ret = ''.join(buf)
 
diff --git a/waflib/extras/print_commands.py b/waflib/extras/print_commands.py
index 805dac9c..42233259 100644
--- a/waflib/extras/print_commands.py
+++ b/waflib/extras/print_commands.py
@@ -62,14 +62,14 @@ def exec_command(self, cmd, **kw):
 
 	if out:
 		if not isinstance(out, str):
-			out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1')
+			out = out.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1')
 		if self.logger:
 			self.logger.debug('out: %s' % out)
 		else:
 			Logs.info(out, extra={'stream':sys.stdout, 'c1': ''})
 	if err:
 		if not isinstance(err, str):
-			err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'iso8859-1')
+			err = err.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or 'latin-1')
 		if self.logger:
 			self.logger.error('err: %s' % err)
 		else:
diff --git a/waflib/fixpy2.py b/waflib/fixpy2.py
index 92daa72f..f6a2abc7 100644
--- a/waflib/fixpy2.py
+++ b/waflib/fixpy2.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def subst(*k):
 def r1(code):
 	"utf-8 fixes for python < 2.6"
 	code = code.replace('as e:', ',e:')
-	code = code.replace(".decode(sys.stdout.encoding or'iso8859-1',errors='replace')", '')
+	code = code.replace(".decode(sys.stdout.encoding or'latin-1',errors='replace')", '')
 	return code.replace('.encode()', '')
 
 @subst('Runner.py')
diff --git a/zip/waf-zip b/zip/waf-zip
index 9a7553a2..06e8ccee 100755
--- a/zip/waf-zip
+++ b/zip/waf-zip
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
-# encoding: ISO8859-1
+# encoding: latin-1
 # Thomas Nagy, 2005-2011
 
 """