diff --git a/src/wallet/wallet.cpp b/src/wallet/wallet.cpp
--- a/src/wallet/wallet.cpp
+++ b/src/wallet/wallet.cpp
@@ -522,13 +522,36 @@
 
     uiInterface.InitMessage(_("Verifying wallet(s)..."));
 
+    // Keep track of each wallet absolute path to detect duplicates.
+    std::set<fs::path> wallet_paths;
+
     for (const std::string &walletFile : gArgs.GetArgs("-wallet")) {
         if (fs::path(walletFile).filename() != walletFile) {
-            return InitError(_(
-                "-wallet parameter must only specify a filename (not a path)"));
-        } else if (SanitizeString(walletFile, SAFE_CHARS_FILENAME) !=
-                   walletFile) {
-            return InitError(_("Invalid characters in -wallet filename"));
+            return InitError(
+                strprintf(_("Error loading wallet %s. -wallet parameter must "
+                            "only specify a filename (not a path)."),
+                          walletFile));
+        }
+
+        if (SanitizeString(walletFile, SAFE_CHARS_FILENAME) != walletFile) {
+            return InitError(strprintf(_("Error loading wallet %s. Invalid "
+                                         "characters in -wallet filename."),
+                                       walletFile));
+        }
+
+        fs::path wallet_path = fs::absolute(walletFile, GetDataDir());
+
+        if (fs::exists(wallet_path) && (!fs::is_regular_file(wallet_path) ||
+                                        fs::is_symlink(wallet_path))) {
+            return InitError(strprintf(_("Error loading wallet %s. -wallet "
+                                         "filename must be a regular file."),
+                                       walletFile));
+        }
+
+        if (!wallet_paths.insert(wallet_path).second) {
+            return InitError(strprintf(_("Error loading wallet %s. Duplicate "
+                                         "-wallet filename specified."),
+                                       walletFile));
         }
 
         std::string strError;
diff --git a/test/functional/multiwallet.py b/test/functional/multiwallet.py
--- a/test/functional/multiwallet.py
+++ b/test/functional/multiwallet.py
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2017 The Bitcoin Core developers
 # Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
 # file COPYING or http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php.
-"""Test multiwallet."""
+"""Test multiwallet.
+
+Verify that a bitcoind node can load multiple wallet files
+"""
+import os
+
 from test_framework.test_framework import BitcoinTestFramework
 from test_framework.util import *
 
@@ -16,6 +21,26 @@
         self.extra_args = [['-wallet=w1', '-wallet=w2', '-wallet=w3']]
 
     def run_test(self):
+        self.stop_node(0)
+
+        # should not initialize if there are duplicate wallets
+        assert_start_raises_init_error(0, self.options.tmpdir, [
+            '-wallet=w1', '-wallet=w1'], 'Error loading wallet w1. Duplicate -wallet filename specified.')
+
+        # should not initialize if wallet file is a directory
+        os.mkdir(os.path.join(self.options.tmpdir, 'node0', 'regtest', 'w11'))
+        assert_start_raises_init_error(0, self.options.tmpdir, [
+            '-wallet=w11'], 'Error loading wallet w11. -wallet filename must be a regular file.')
+
+        # should not initialize if wallet file is a symlink
+        os.symlink(os.path.join(self.options.tmpdir, 'node0', 'regtest', 'w1'),
+                   os.path.join(self.options.tmpdir, 'node0', 'regtest', 'w12'))
+        assert_start_raises_init_error(0, self.options.tmpdir, [
+            '-wallet=w12'], 'Error loading wallet w12. -wallet filename must be a regular file.')
+
+        self.nodes[0] = self.start_node(
+            0, self.options.tmpdir, self.extra_args[0])
+
         w1 = self.nodes[0] / "wallet/w1"
         w1.generate(1)