diff --git a/examples/breakfast.md b/examples/breakfast.md
index de902c885..a98fbb408 100644
--- a/examples/breakfast.md
+++ b/examples/breakfast.md
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ commonLabels:
   who: alice
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - temperature.yaml
 EOF
 
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ commonLabels:
   who: bob
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - topping.yaml
 EOF
 
diff --git a/examples/configGeneration.md b/examples/configGeneration.md
index be61beb59..703e7bf95 100644
--- a/examples/configGeneration.md
+++ b/examples/configGeneration.md
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ commonAnnotations:
   note: Hello, I am staging!
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - map.yaml
 EOF
 
diff --git a/examples/helloWorld/README.md b/examples/helloWorld/README.md
index 390f90a30..0a6d3257e 100644
--- a/examples/helloWorld/README.md
+++ b/examples/helloWorld/README.md
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ commonAnnotations:
   note: Hello, I am staging!
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - map.yaml
 EOF
 ```
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ commonAnnotations:
   note: Hello, I am production!
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - deployment.yaml
 EOF
 ```
diff --git a/examples/ldap/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml b/examples/ldap/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
index a8dda51ca..84a159c96 100644
--- a/examples/ldap/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/examples/ldap/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 bases:
   - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - deployment.yaml
 namePrefix: production-
diff --git a/examples/ldap/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml b/examples/ldap/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
index 7688bea73..18bbf920f 100644
--- a/examples/ldap/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/examples/ldap/overlays/staging/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 bases:
   - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - deployment.yaml
 nameprefix: staging-
 configMapGenerator:
diff --git a/examples/mySql/README.md b/examples/mySql/README.md
index 1b68e0a17..c5b72a07c 100644
--- a/examples/mySql/README.md
+++ b/examples/mySql/README.md
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ Off the shelf MySQL uses `emptyDir` type volume, which
 gets wiped away if the MySQL Pod is recreated, and that
 is certainly not desirable for production
 environment. So we want to use Persistent Disk in
-production. kustomize lets you apply `patches` to the
+production. kustomize lets you apply `patchesStrategicMerge` to the
 resources.
 
 <!-- @createPatchFile @test -->
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ Add the patch file to `kustomization.yaml`:
 <!-- @specifyPatch @test -->
 ```
 cat <<'EOF' >> $DEMO_HOME/kustomization.yaml
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - persistent-disk.yaml
 EOF
 ```
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ Lets break this down:
   in deployment.yaml
 
 - Then we added `persistent-disk.yaml` to list of
-  `patches` in `kustomization.yaml`. `kustomize build`
+  `patchesStrategicMerge` in `kustomization.yaml`. `kustomize build`
   will apply this patch to the deployment resource with
   the name `mysql` as defined in the patch.
 
diff --git a/examples/springboot/README.md b/examples/springboot/README.md
index ca4dda4ae..a3f7e222b 100644
--- a/examples/springboot/README.md
+++ b/examples/springboot/README.md
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@ kustomize edit add patch healthcheck_patch.yaml
 `kustomization.yaml` should have patches field:
 
 > ```
-> patches:
+> patchesStrategicMerge:
 > - patch.yaml
 > - memorylimit_patch.yaml
 > - healthcheck_patch.yaml
diff --git a/examples/springboot/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml b/examples/springboot/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
index 121f384b0..c892f877a 100644
--- a/examples/springboot/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/examples/springboot/overlays/production/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 bases:
 - ../../base
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - patch.yaml
 - healthcheck_patch.yaml
 - memorylimit_patch.yaml
diff --git a/examples/wordpress/README.md b/examples/wordpress/README.md
index ce3f75efa..7746f0257 100644
--- a/examples/wordpress/README.md
+++ b/examples/wordpress/README.md
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ bases:
   - wordpress
   - mysql
 namePrefix: demo-
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - patch.yaml
 EOF
 ```
diff --git a/examples/wordpress/kustomization.yaml b/examples/wordpress/kustomization.yaml
index c9d7c8dcd..cda9e01f0 100644
--- a/examples/wordpress/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/examples/wordpress/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 bases:
   - wordpress
   - mysql
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - patch.yaml
 namePrefix: demo-
 
diff --git a/pkg/app/application.go b/pkg/app/application.go
index 8f8a9539f..f7c7a7b69 100644
--- a/pkg/app/application.go
+++ b/pkg/app/application.go
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ func (a *Application) loadCustomizedResMap() (resmap.ResMap, error) {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	a.kustomization.PatchesStrategicMerge = patch.Append(a.kustomization.PatchesStrategicMerge, a.kustomization.Patches)
+	a.kustomization.PatchesStrategicMerge = patch.Append(a.kustomization.PatchesStrategicMerge, a.kustomization.Patches...)
 	patches, err := resmap.NewResourceSliceFromPatches(a.ldr, a.kustomization.PatchesStrategicMerge)
 	if err != nil {
 		errs.Append(errors.Wrap(err, "NewResourceSliceFromPatches"))
diff --git a/pkg/commands/addpatch.go b/pkg/commands/addpatch.go
index 36b243889..e16698ea2 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/addpatch.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/addpatch.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/pkg/constants"
 	"github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/pkg/fs"
+	"github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/pkg/patch"
 )
 
 type addPatchOptions struct {
@@ -88,12 +89,12 @@ func (o *addPatchOptions) RunAddPatch(fsys fs.FileSystem) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	for _, patch := range patches {
-		if stringInSlice(patch, m.Patches) {
-			log.Printf("patch %s already in kustomization file", patch)
+	for _, p := range patches {
+		if patch.Exist(m.PatchesStrategicMerge, p) || stringInSlice(p, m.Patches) {
+			log.Printf("patch %s already in kustomization file", p)
 			continue
 		}
-		m.Patches = append(m.Patches, patch)
+		m.PatchesStrategicMerge = patch.Append(m.PatchesStrategicMerge, p)
 	}
 
 	return mf.write(m)
diff --git a/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile.go b/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile.go
index a386ebccf..383b3daa8 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile.go
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ var (
 		"CommonLabels",
 		"CommonAnnotations",
 		"Patches",
+		"PatchesStrategicMerge",
 		"ConfigMapGenerator",
 		"SecretGenerator",
 		"Vars",
diff --git a/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile_test.go b/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile_test.go
index 2b145cb3d..56e8970ab 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile_test.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/kustomizationfile_test.go
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ vars:
 bases:
 - ../namespaces
 # some descriptions for the patches
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - service.yaml
 - pod.yaml
 `)
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ BASES:
 
 # some descriptions for the patches
 
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - service.yaml
 - pod.yaml
 `)
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ bases:
 
 # some descriptions for the patches
 
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - service.yaml
 - pod.yaml
 `)
diff --git a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-conflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-conflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
index 173d1b050..2419b72af 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-conflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-conflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 namePrefix: staging-
 commonLabels:
   env: staging
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - deployment-patch2.yaml
   - deployment-patch1.yaml
 bases:
diff --git a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-noconflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-noconflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
index 555bda157..51e39c216 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-noconflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-multiple-patches-noconflict/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 namePrefix: staging-
 commonLabels:
   env: staging
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - patches/deployment-patch1.yaml
   - patches/deployment-patch2.yaml
 bases:
diff --git a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-single-overlay/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-single-overlay/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
index 42f80b67c..7538778f7 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-single-overlay/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/pkg/commands/testdata/testcase-single-overlay/in/overlay/kustomization.yaml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ namePrefix: staging-
 commonLabels:
   env: staging
   team: override-foo
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
   - deployment.yaml
 bases:
   - ../package/
diff --git a/pkg/examplelayout/simple/instances/exampleinstance/kustomization.yaml b/pkg/examplelayout/simple/instances/exampleinstance/kustomization.yaml
index 4426f5a9c..3741a2b52 100644
--- a/pkg/examplelayout/simple/instances/exampleinstance/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/pkg/examplelayout/simple/instances/exampleinstance/kustomization.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ commonAnnotations:
   note: This is a test annotation
 bases:
 - ../../package/
-patches:
+patchesStrategicMerge:
 - deployment/deployment.yaml
 configMapGenerator:
 - name: app-env
diff --git a/pkg/patch/strategicmergepatch.go b/pkg/patch/strategicmergepatch.go
index a5cc89529..448a84530 100644
--- a/pkg/patch/strategicmergepatch.go
+++ b/pkg/patch/strategicmergepatch.go
@@ -22,9 +22,19 @@ package patch
 type PatchStrategicMerge string
 
 // Append appends a slice of patch paths to a PatchStategicMerge slice
-func Append(patches []PatchStrategicMerge, paths []string) []PatchStrategicMerge {
+func Append(patches []PatchStrategicMerge, paths ...string) []PatchStrategicMerge {
 	for _, p := range paths {
 		patches = append(patches, PatchStrategicMerge(p))
 	}
 	return patches
 }
+
+// Exist determines if a patch path exists in a slice of PatchStategicMerge
+func Exist(patches []PatchStrategicMerge, path string) bool {
+	for _, p := range patches {
+		if p == PatchStrategicMerge(path) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/pkg/types/kustomization.go b/pkg/types/kustomization.go
index 065d013bd..f9163035e 100644
--- a/pkg/types/kustomization.go
+++ b/pkg/types/kustomization.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ type Kustomization struct {
 	// The patch files should be Stategic Merge Patch, the default patching behavior for kubectl.
 	// https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/master/contributors/devel/strategic-merge-patch.md
 	Patches               []string                    `json:"patches,omitempty" yaml:"patches,omitempty"`
-	PatchesStrategicMerge []patch.PatchStrategicMerge `json:"patchesSrategicMerge,omitempty" yaml:"patchesStategicMerge,omitempty"`
+	PatchesStrategicMerge []patch.PatchStrategicMerge `json:"patchesStrategicMerge,omitempty" yaml:"patchesStrategicMerge,omitempty"`
 
 	// JSONPatches is a list of JSONPatch for applying JSON patch.
 	// The JSON patch is documented at https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6902