diff --git a/app/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service.rb b/app/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service.rb
index b13940382b5..6e92b2ee272 100644
--- a/app/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service.rb
+++ b/app/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service.rb
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ class HashtagAutocompleteService
     # Any items that are _not_ the top-ranked type (which could possibly not be
     # the same as the first item in the types_in_priority_order if there was
     # no data for that type) that have conflicting slugs with other items for
-    # other types need to have a ::type suffix added to their ref.
+    # other higher-ranked types need to have a ::type suffix added to their ref.
     #
     # This will be used for the lookup method above if one of these items is
     # chosen in the UI, otherwise there is no way to determine whether a hashtag is
@@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ class HashtagAutocompleteService
     #
     # For example, if there is a category with the slug #general and a tag
     # with the slug #general, then the tag will have its ref changed to #general::tag
-    append_types_to_conflicts(limited_results, top_ranked_type, limit)
+    append_types_to_conflicts(limited_results, top_ranked_type, types_in_priority_order, limit)
   end
 
   # TODO (martin) Remove this once plugins are not relying on the old lookup
@@ -425,13 +425,22 @@ class HashtagAutocompleteService
     )
   end
 
-  def append_types_to_conflicts(limited_results, top_ranked_type, limit)
+  def append_types_to_conflicts(limited_results, top_ranked_type, types_in_priority_order, limit)
     limited_results.each do |hashtag_item|
       next if hashtag_item.type == top_ranked_type
 
-      other_slugs = limited_results.reject { |r| r.type === hashtag_item.type }.map(&:slug)
-      if other_slugs.include?(hashtag_item.slug)
-        hashtag_item.ref = "#{hashtag_item.slug}::#{hashtag_item.type}"
+      # We only need to change the ref to include the type if there is a
+      # higher-ranked hashtag slug that conflicts with this one.
+      higher_ranked_types =
+        types_in_priority_order.slice(0, types_in_priority_order.index(hashtag_item.type))
+      higher_ranked_slugs =
+        limited_results
+          .reject { |r| r.type === hashtag_item.type }
+          .select { |r| higher_ranked_types.include?(r.type) }
+          .map(&:slug)
+
+      if higher_ranked_slugs.include?(hashtag_item.slug)
+        hashtag_item.ref = "#{hashtag_item.ref}::#{hashtag_item.type}"
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service_spec.rb b/spec/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service_spec.rb
index eeb4dd74b8c..9c2382816ba 100644
--- a/spec/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/hashtag_autocomplete_service_spec.rb
@@ -140,6 +140,44 @@ RSpec.describe HashtagAutocompleteService do
       )
     end
 
+    it "does not add a type suffix where
+        1. a subcategory name conflicts with an existing tag name and
+        2. the category is not the top ranked type" do
+      parent = Fabricate(:category, name: "Hobbies", slug: "hobbies")
+      category1.update!(parent_category: parent)
+      Fabricate(:tag, name: "the-book-club")
+
+      Fabricate(:bookmark, user: user, name: "book club")
+      guardian.user.reload
+
+      DiscoursePluginRegistry.register_hashtag_autocomplete_data_source(
+        FakeBookmarkHashtagDataSource,
+        stub(enabled?: true),
+      )
+
+      expect(subject.search("book", %w[bookmark category tag]).map(&:ref)).to eq(
+        %w[book-club hobbies:the-book-club great-books the-book-club::tag],
+      )
+    end
+
+    it "handles the type suffix where the top ranked type conflicts with a subcategory" do
+      parent = Fabricate(:category, name: "Hobbies", slug: "hobbies")
+      category1.update!(parent_category: parent)
+      Fabricate(:tag, name: "the-book-club")
+
+      Fabricate(:bookmark, user: user, name: "the book club")
+      guardian.user.reload
+
+      DiscoursePluginRegistry.register_hashtag_autocomplete_data_source(
+        FakeBookmarkHashtagDataSource,
+        stub(enabled?: true),
+      )
+
+      expect(subject.search("book", %w[bookmark category tag]).map(&:ref)).to eq(
+        %w[the-book-club hobbies:the-book-club::category great-books the-book-club::tag],
+      )
+    end
+
     it "orders results by (with type ordering within each section):
         1. exact match on slug (ignoring parent/child distinction for categories)
         2. slugs that start with the term
@@ -342,6 +380,18 @@ RSpec.describe HashtagAutocompleteService do
       category1.update!(parent_category: nil)
     end
 
+    it "handles parent:child category lookups with type suffix" do
+      parent_category = Fabricate(:category, name: "Media", slug: "media")
+      category1.update!(parent_category: parent_category)
+      result = subject.lookup(%w[media:the-book-club::category], %w[category tag])
+      expect(result[:category].map(&:slug)).to eq(["the-book-club"])
+      expect(result[:category].map(&:ref)).to eq(["media:the-book-club::category"])
+      expect(result[:category].map(&:relative_url)).to eq(
+        ["/c/media/the-book-club/#{category1.id}"],
+      )
+      category1.update!(parent_category: nil)
+    end
+
     it "does not return the category if the parent does not match the child" do
       parent_category = Fabricate(:category, name: "Media", slug: "media")
       category1.update!(parent_category: parent_category)