diff --git a/drivers/spi/spi-mem.c b/drivers/spi/spi-mem.c
index 990770dfa5cf..e43842c7a31a 100644
--- a/drivers/spi/spi-mem.c
+++ b/drivers/spi/spi-mem.c
@@ -310,6 +310,24 @@ int spi_mem_exec_op(struct spi_mem *mem, const struct spi_mem_op *op)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(spi_mem_exec_op);
 
+/**
+ * spi_mem_get_name() - Return the SPI mem device name to be used by the
+ *			upper layer if necessary
+ * @mem: the SPI memory
+ *
+ * This function allows SPI mem users to retrieve the SPI mem device name.
+ * It is useful if the upper layer needs to expose a custom name for
+ * compatibility reasons.
+ *
+ * Return: a string containing the name of the memory device to be used
+ *	   by the SPI mem user
+ */
+const char *spi_mem_get_name(struct spi_mem *mem)
+{
+	return mem->name;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(spi_mem_get_name);
+
 /**
  * spi_mem_adjust_op_size() - Adjust the data size of a SPI mem operation to
  *			      match controller limitations
@@ -344,6 +362,7 @@ static inline struct spi_mem_driver *to_spi_mem_drv(struct device_driver *drv)
 static int spi_mem_probe(struct spi_device *spi)
 {
 	struct spi_mem_driver *memdrv = to_spi_mem_drv(spi->dev.driver);
+	struct spi_controller *ctlr = spi->controller;
 	struct spi_mem *mem;
 
 	mem = devm_kzalloc(&spi->dev, sizeof(*mem), GFP_KERNEL);
@@ -351,6 +370,15 @@ static int spi_mem_probe(struct spi_device *spi)
 		return -ENOMEM;
 
 	mem->spi = spi;
+
+	if (ctlr->mem_ops && ctlr->mem_ops->get_name)
+		mem->name = ctlr->mem_ops->get_name(mem);
+	else
+		mem->name = dev_name(&spi->dev);
+
+	if (IS_ERR_OR_NULL(mem->name))
+		return PTR_ERR(mem->name);
+
 	spi_set_drvdata(spi, mem);
 
 	return memdrv->probe(mem);
diff --git a/include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h b/include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h
index 951a2e949d5f..0d64ccc4e584 100644
--- a/include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h
+++ b/include/linux/spi/spi-mem.h
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ struct spi_mem_op {
  * struct spi_mem - describes a SPI memory device
  * @spi: the underlying SPI device
  * @drvpriv: spi_mem_driver private data
+ * @name: name of the SPI memory device
  *
  * Extra information that describe the SPI memory device and may be needed by
  * the controller to properly handle this device should be placed here.
@@ -133,6 +134,7 @@ struct spi_mem_op {
 struct spi_mem {
 	struct spi_device *spi;
 	void *drvpriv;
+	char *name;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -165,6 +167,13 @@ static inline void *spi_mem_get_drvdata(struct spi_mem *mem)
  *		    limitations)
  * @supports_op: check if an operation is supported by the controller
  * @exec_op: execute a SPI memory operation
+ * @get_name: get a custom name for the SPI mem device from the controller.
+ *	      This might be needed if the controller driver has been ported
+ *	      to use the SPI mem layer and a custom name is used to keep
+ *	      mtdparts compatible.
+ *	      Note that if the implementation of this function allocates memory
+ *	      dynamically, then it should do so with devm_xxx(), as we don't
+ *	      have a ->free_name() function.
  *
  * This interface should be implemented by SPI controllers providing an
  * high-level interface to execute SPI memory operation, which is usually the
@@ -176,6 +185,7 @@ struct spi_controller_mem_ops {
 			    const struct spi_mem_op *op);
 	int (*exec_op)(struct spi_mem *mem,
 		       const struct spi_mem_op *op);
+	const char *(*get_name)(struct spi_mem *mem);
 };
 
 /**
@@ -234,6 +244,8 @@ bool spi_mem_supports_op(struct spi_mem *mem,
 int spi_mem_exec_op(struct spi_mem *mem,
 		    const struct spi_mem_op *op);
 
+const char *spi_mem_get_name(struct spi_mem *mem);
+
 int spi_mem_driver_register_with_owner(struct spi_mem_driver *drv,
 				       struct module *owner);