diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1432da4..02b42f2 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.
 
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
 ## [Unreleased]
+## Added
+- Added a function to the mysql executioner to use mariadb commands if mariadb is detected. This is because the mysql commands are deprecated on newer systems.
 
 ## [2.5.0] 2024-12-27
 ## Fixed
diff --git a/pynonymizer/database/mysql/execution.py b/pynonymizer/database/mysql/execution.py
index 96fec7a..e000174 100644
--- a/pynonymizer/database/mysql/execution.py
+++ b/pynonymizer/database/mysql/execution.py
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 import shutil
 import shlex
 import subprocess
+
 from pynonymizer.database.exceptions import DependencyError
+import pynonymizer
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -21,6 +23,15 @@ def _optional_arg_pair(arg_value_pair):
     return _optional_arg(arg_value_pair[1], arg_value_pair)
 
 
+def _set_mysql_cmd() -> None:
+    if shutil.which("mariadb"):
+        logger.info(
+            "Found mariadb client, using mariadb and mariadb-dump instead of deprecated mysql commands."
+        )
+        pynonymizer.database.mysql.execution.RESTORE_CMD = "mariadb"
+        pynonymizer.database.mysql.execution.DUMP_CMD = "mariadb-dump"
+
+
 class MySqlDumpRunner:
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -42,6 +53,8 @@ def __init__(
         if db_name is None:
             raise ValueError("db_name cannot be null")
 
+        _set_mysql_cmd()
+
         if not (shutil.which(DUMP_CMD)):
             raise DependencyError(
                 DUMP_CMD, f"The '{DUMP_CMD}' client must be present in the $PATH"
@@ -97,6 +110,8 @@ def __init__(
         if db_name is None:
             raise ValueError("db_name cannot be null")
 
+        _set_mysql_cmd()
+
         if not (shutil.which(RESTORE_CMD)):
             raise DependencyError(
                 RESTORE_CMD, f"The '{RESTORE_CMD}' client must be present in the $PATH"
diff --git a/tests/database/__init__.py b/tests/database/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/database/mysql/__init__.py b/tests/database/mysql/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/database/mysql/test_execution.py b/tests/database/mysql/test_execution.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..721a56d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/database/mysql/test_execution.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+from unittest import mock
+from pynonymizer.database.mysql import execution
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    argnames=("mocked_command", "expected_restore_cmd", "expected_dump_cmd"),
+    argvalues=[("mysql", "mysql", "mysqldump"), ("mariadb", "mariadb", "mariadb-dump")],
+    ids=["mysql", "mariadb"],
+)
+def test_set_mysql_cmd(
+    mocked_command: str, expected_restore_cmd: str, expected_dump_cmd: str, tmpdir
+) -> None:
+    # create a fake binary for shutil to find
+    fake_binary_path: Path = tmpdir / mocked_command
+    fake_binary_path.write_text("#!/bin/bash\nexit 0", encoding="utf-8")
+    fake_binary_path.chmod(0o755)
+
+    with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"PATH": str(tmpdir)}):
+        # Make sure the global variables are set to the default values
+        assert execution.RESTORE_CMD == "mysql"
+        assert execution.DUMP_CMD == "mysqldump"
+        execution._set_mysql_cmd()
+        # Check if the global variables are set to the expected values
+        assert execution.RESTORE_CMD == expected_restore_cmd
+        assert execution.DUMP_CMD == expected_dump_cmd