diff --git a/po/CMakeLists.txt b/po/CMakeLists.txt
index 79c310d571..52b0a03c09 100644
--- a/po/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/po/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -88,7 +88,11 @@ function(make_gnucash_potfiles)
   foreach (path ${FILES_IN})
     if (${path} MATCHES "^(bindings/|borrowed/|common/|doc/|libgnucash/|gnucash/)"
         AND
-        NOT ${path} MATCHES "gw-|test|experimental|python-bindings|swig-.*\\.c")
+        NOT ${path} MATCHES "gw-|test|experimental|python-bindings|swig-.*\\.c"
+        # Skip POSIX style hidden files even if they have the proper extension
+        # These are typically temporary files from editors like emacs
+        AND
+        NOT ${path} MATCHES "/[.][^/]*$")
         list (APPEND GOOD_FILES ${path})
     endif ()
   endforeach (path)