diff --git a/DOCS/interface-changes/command-name.txt b/DOCS/interface-changes/command-name.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..33db7ab79d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DOCS/interface-changes/command-name.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+make `mpv_command_node` accept `_name` for command name
diff --git a/DOCS/man/input.rst b/DOCS/man/input.rst
index 60d9d5059f..8a8b7c11b2 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/input.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/input.rst
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ This applies to certain APIs, such as ``mp.command_native()`` (with tables that
 have string keys) in Lua scripting, or ``mpv_command_node()`` (with
 MPV_FORMAT_NODE_MAP) in the C libmpv client API.
 
-The name of the command is provided with a ``name`` string field. The name of
+The name of the command is provided with a ``_name`` string field. The name of
 each command is defined in each command description in the
 `List of Input Commands`_. ``--input-cmdlist`` also lists them. See the
 ``subprocess`` command for an example.
diff --git a/DOCS/man/lua.rst b/DOCS/man/lua.rst
index 3b76453ebb..b02ba3c197 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/lua.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/lua.rst
@@ -155,11 +155,14 @@ The ``mp`` module is preloaded, although it can be loaded manually with
     ``mp.commandv()`` (but can be a native type instead of a string).
 
     If the table contains string keys, it's interpreted as command with named
-    arguments. This requires at least an entry with the key ``name`` to be
-    present, which must be a string, and contains the command name. The special
-    entry ``_flags`` is optional, and if present, must be an array of
-    `Input Command Prefixes`_ to apply. All other entries are interpreted as
-    arguments.
+    arguments. This requires at least an entry with the key ``_name`` to be
+    present, which must be a string, and contains the command name.
+    For compatibility, if the key ``_name`` does not exist, then the entry with
+    the key ``name`` will be used instead. The special entry ``_flags`` is
+    optional, and if present, must be an array of `Input Command Prefixes`_ to
+    apply. All other entries are interpreted as arguments. Note that some
+    commands have arguments named ``name``, and can only be used if the command
+    name is specified with key ``_name`` instead of ``name``.
 
     Returns a result table on success (usually empty), or ``def, error`` on
     error. ``def`` is the second parameter provided to the function, and is
diff --git a/include/mpv/client.h b/include/mpv/client.h
index feb48fda9a..f72a0e0a46 100644
--- a/include/mpv/client.h
+++ b/include/mpv/client.h
@@ -924,13 +924,17 @@ MPV_EXPORT int mpv_command(mpv_handle *ctx, const char **args);
  *      of arguments is as documented in each command description.
  *
  * MPV_FORMAT_NODE_MAP:
- *      Named arguments. This requires at least an entry with the key "name"
- *      to be present, which must be a string, and contains the command name.
+ *      Named arguments. This requires at least a special entry with the key
+ *      "_name" to be present, which must be a string, and contains the command
+ *      name. For compatibility, if the key "_name" does not exist, then the
+ *      entry with the key "name" will be used instead.
  *      The special entry "_flags" is optional, and if present, must be an
  *      array of strings, each being a command prefix to apply. All other
  *      entries are interpreted as arguments. They must use the argument names
  *      as documented in each command description. Some commands do not
  *      support named arguments at all, and must use MPV_FORMAT_NODE_ARRAY.
+ *      Some commands have arguments named "name", and can only be used if
+ *      the command name is specified with key "_name" instead of "name".
  *
  * @param[in] args mpv_node with format set to one of the values documented
  *                 above (see there for details)
diff --git a/input/cmd.c b/input/cmd.c
index 44e76dadba..a9ca48f1aa 100644
--- a/input/cmd.c
+++ b/input/cmd.c
@@ -230,7 +230,12 @@ static bool cmd_node_map(struct mp_log *log, struct mp_cmd *cmd, mpv_node *node)
     mp_assert(node->format == MPV_FORMAT_NODE_MAP);
     mpv_node_list *args = node->u.list;
 
-    mpv_node *name = node_map_get(node, "name");
+    bool old_name = false;
+    mpv_node *name = node_map_get(node, "_name");
+    if (!name || name->format != MPV_FORMAT_STRING) {
+        old_name = true;
+        name = node_map_get(node, "name");
+    }
     if (!name || name->format != MPV_FORMAT_STRING)
         return false;
 
@@ -248,7 +253,7 @@ static bool cmd_node_map(struct mp_log *log, struct mp_cmd *cmd, mpv_node *node)
         const char *key = args->keys[n];
         mpv_node *val = &args->values[n];
 
-        if (strcmp(key, "name") == 0) {
+        if (strcmp(key, "_name") == 0 || (old_name && strcmp(key, "name") == 0)) {
             // already handled above
         } else if (strcmp(key, "_flags") == 0) {
             if (val->format != MPV_FORMAT_NODE_ARRAY)