diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pgf.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pgf.py
index 22e900b8a98b..9909f6b09223 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pgf.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pgf.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 system_fonts = []
 for f in font_manager.findSystemFonts():
     try:
-        system_fonts.append(FT2Font(str(f).family_name))
+        system_fonts.append(FT2Font(str(f)).family_name)
     except RuntimeError:
         pass # some fonts on osx are known to fail, print?
     except: