The __repr__ output of an enum class should use __qualname__ instead of __name__. The following example shows the problem: import enum class X: class I: pass class Y: class I(enum.Enum): pass print(X.I) print(Y.I) This prints: <class '__main__.X.I'> <enum 'I'> I would have expected it to print <class '__main__.X.I'> <enum 'Y.I'> or even for maximum consistency <class '__main__.X.I'> <enum '__main__.Y.I'>