diff --git a/doc/bdev.md b/doc/bdev.md
index 41e0141ac..87af91d00 100644
--- a/doc/bdev.md
+++ b/doc/bdev.md
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ Example:
 ~~~
 It is possible to create pmem bdev using SPDK RPC:
 ~~~
-./scripts/rpc.py construct_pmem_bdev /path/to/pmem_pool
+./scripts/rpc.py construct_pmem_bdev -n bdev_name /path/to/pmem_pool
 ~~~
 
 ## Null {#bdev_config_null}
diff --git a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.c b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.c
index 3aa334268..862343608 100644
--- a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.c
+++ b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.c
@@ -51,8 +51,6 @@ struct pmem_disk {
 
 static TAILQ_HEAD(, pmem_disk) g_pmem_disks = TAILQ_HEAD_INITIALIZER(g_pmem_disks);
 
-static int pmem_disk_count = 0;
-
 static int bdev_pmem_initialize(void);
 static void bdev_pmem_finish(void);
 
@@ -284,13 +282,20 @@ static const struct spdk_bdev_fn_table pmem_fn_table = {
 };
 
 int
-spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev)
+spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, const char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev)
 {
 	uint64_t num_blocks;
 	uint32_t block_size;
 	struct pmem_disk *pdisk;
 	int rc;
 
+	*bdev = NULL;
+
+	if (name == NULL) {
+		SPDK_ERRLOG("Missing name parameter for spdk_create_pmem_disk()\n");
+		return EINVAL;
+	}
+
 	if (pmemblk_check(pmem_file, 0) != 1) {
 		SPDK_ERRLOG("Pool '%s' check failed: %s\n", pmem_file, pmemblk_errormsg());
 		return EIO;
@@ -325,12 +330,8 @@ spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev
 		free(pdisk);
 		return EINVAL;
 	}
-	if (name) {
-		pdisk->disk.name = spdk_sprintf_alloc("%s", name);
-	} else {
-		pdisk->disk.name = spdk_sprintf_alloc("pmem%d", pmem_disk_count);
-	}
 
+	pdisk->disk.name = strdup(name);
 	if (!pdisk->disk.name) {
 		pmemblk_close(pdisk->pool);
 		free(pdisk);
@@ -338,8 +339,6 @@ spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev
 	}
 
 	pdisk->disk.product_name = "pmemblk disk";
-	pmem_disk_count++;
-
 	pdisk->disk.write_cache = 0;
 	pdisk->disk.blocklen = block_size;
 	pdisk->disk.blockcnt = num_blocks;
diff --git a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.h b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.h
index 9ce602143..9011dacaf 100644
--- a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.h
+++ b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem.h
@@ -36,6 +36,6 @@
 
 #include "spdk/bdev.h"
 
-int spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev);
+int spdk_create_pmem_disk(const char *pmem_file, const char *name, struct spdk_bdev **bdev);
 
 #endif /* SPDK_BDEV_PMEM_H */
diff --git a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_rpc.c b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_rpc.c
index f2f040245..ad3acf8e6 100644
--- a/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_rpc.c
+++ b/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_rpc.c
@@ -48,11 +48,12 @@ static void
 free_rpc_construct_pmem_bdev(struct rpc_construct_pmem *req)
 {
 	free(req->pmem_file);
+	free(req->name);
 }
 
 static const struct spdk_json_object_decoder rpc_construct_pmem_decoders[] = {
 	{"pmem_file", offsetof(struct rpc_construct_pmem, pmem_file), spdk_json_decode_string},
-	{"name", offsetof(struct rpc_construct_pmem, name), spdk_json_decode_string, true},
+	{"name", offsetof(struct rpc_construct_pmem, name), spdk_json_decode_string},
 };
 
 static void
diff --git a/scripts/rpc.py b/scripts/rpc.py
index 18e7e2a99..d6bc832f0 100755
--- a/scripts/rpc.py
+++ b/scripts/rpc.py
@@ -210,14 +210,15 @@ p.set_defaults(func=delete_pmem_pool)
 
 
 def construct_pmem_bdev(args):
-    params = {'pmem_file': args.pmem_file}
-    if args.name:
-        params['name'] = args.name
+    params = {
+        'pmem_file': args.pmem_file,
+        'name': args.name
+    }
     print_array(jsonrpc_call('construct_pmem_bdev', params))
 
 p = subparsers.add_parser('construct_pmem_bdev', help='Add a bdev with pmem backend')
 p.add_argument('pmem_file', help='Path to pmemblk pool file')
-p.add_argument('-n', '--name', help='Block device name', required=False)
+p.add_argument('-n', '--name', help='Block device name', required=True)
 p.set_defaults(func=construct_pmem_bdev)
 
 def construct_null_bdev(args):
diff --git a/test/iscsi_tgt/pmem/iscsi_pmem.sh b/test/iscsi_tgt/pmem/iscsi_pmem.sh
index 7a910f13b..0261e47b1 100755
--- a/test/iscsi_tgt/pmem/iscsi_pmem.sh
+++ b/test/iscsi_tgt/pmem/iscsi_pmem.sh
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ for i in `seq 1 $TGT_NR`; do
 	luns=""
 	for j in `seq 1 $PMEM_PER_TGT`; do
 		$rpc_py create_pmem_pool /tmp/pool_file${i}_${j} $PMEM_SIZE $PMEM_BLOCK_SIZE
-		bdevs_name="$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev /tmp/pool_file${i}_${j})"
+		bdevs_name="$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n pmem${i}_${j} /tmp/pool_file${i}_${j})"
 		PMEM_BDEVS+="$bdevs_name "
 		luns+="$bdevs_name:$((j-1)) "
 	done
diff --git a/test/nvmf/pmem/nvmf_pmem.sh b/test/nvmf/pmem/nvmf_pmem.sh
index 160510d29..a460f2b54 100755
--- a/test/nvmf/pmem/nvmf_pmem.sh
+++ b/test/nvmf/pmem/nvmf_pmem.sh
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ for i in `seq 1 $SUBSYS_NR`; do
 	bdevs=""
 	for c in `seq 1 $PMEM_PER_SUBSYS`; do
 		$rpc_py create_pmem_pool /tmp/pool_file${i}_${c} 32 512
-		bdevs+="$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev /tmp/pool_file${i}_${c}) "
+		bdevs+="$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n pmem${i}_${c} /tmp/pool_file${i}_${c}) "
 	done
 	$rpc_py construct_nvmf_subsystem nqn.2016-06.io.spdk:cnode$i "trtype:RDMA traddr:$NVMF_FIRST_TARGET_IP trsvcid:$NVMF_PORT" '' -a -s SPDK$i -n "$bdevs"
 	PMEM_BDEVS+=$bdevs
diff --git a/test/pmem/pmem.sh b/test/pmem/pmem.sh
index 7c73997bd..2768cfe12 100755
--- a/test/pmem/pmem.sh
+++ b/test/pmem/pmem.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ test_all=true
 test_all_get=false
 default_pool_file=$TEST_DIR/test/pmem/pool_file
 obj_pool_file=$TEST_DIR/test/pmem/obj_pool_file
+bdev_name=pmem0
 
 function usage()
 {
@@ -459,7 +460,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc2()
 	pmem_clean_pool_file
 
 	pmem_create_pool_file
-	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $TEST_DIR/non/existing/path/non_existent_file; then
+	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $TEST_DIR/non/existing/path/non_existent_file; then
 		error "Created pmem bdev w/out valid pool file!"
 	fi
 
@@ -476,7 +477,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc3()
 	pmem_print_tc_name ${FUNCNAME[0]}
 
 	truncate -s 32M $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/random_file
-	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/random_file; then
+	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/random_file; then
 		error "Created pmem bdev from random file!"
 	fi
 
@@ -501,7 +502,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc4()
 		truncate -s "32M" $obj_pool_file
 	fi
 
-	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/obj_pool_file; then
+	if $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/obj_pool_file; then
 		pmem_clean_pool_file $TEST_DIR/test/pmem/obj_pool_file
 		error "Created pmem bdev from obj type pmem file!"
 	fi
@@ -521,7 +522,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc5()
 		error "Failed to get pmem info!"
 	fi
 
-	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $default_pool_file)
+	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $default_pool_file)
 	if [ $? != 0 ]; then
 		error "Failed to create pmem bdev"
 	fi
@@ -553,7 +554,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc6()
 		error "Failed to get info on pmem pool file!"
 	fi
 
-	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $default_pool_file)
+	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $default_pool_file)
 	if [ $? != 0 ]; then
 		error "Failed to create pmem bdev!"
 	fi
@@ -562,7 +563,7 @@ function construct_pmem_bdev_tc6()
 		error "Pmem bdev not found!"
 	fi
 
-	if  $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $default_pool_file; then
+	if  $rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $default_pool_file; then
 		error "Constructed pmem bdev with occupied path!"
 	fi
 
@@ -593,7 +594,7 @@ function delete_bdev_tc1()
 		error "Failed to get pmem info!"
 	fi
 
-	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $default_pool_file)
+	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $default_pool_file)
 	if [ $? != 0 ]; then
 		error "Failed to create pmem bdev!"
 	fi
@@ -626,7 +627,7 @@ function delete_bdev_tc2()
 		error "Failed to get pmem info!"
 	fi
 
-	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev $default_pool_file)
+	pmem_bdev_name=$($rpc_py construct_pmem_bdev -n $bdev_name $default_pool_file)
 	if [ $? != 0 ]; then
 		error "Failed to create pmem bdev"
 	fi
diff --git a/test/unit/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_ut.c b/test/unit/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_ut.c
index a5d706f94..c8d0986df 100644
--- a/test/unit/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_ut.c
+++ b/test/unit/lib/bdev/pmem/bdev_pmem_ut.c
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ struct pmemblk {
 	uint8_t *buffer;
 };
 
+static const char *g_bdev_name = "pmem0";
+
 /* PMEMblkpool is a typedef of struct pmemblk */
 static PMEMblkpool g_pool_ok = {
 	.name = "/pools/ok_pool",
@@ -429,8 +431,14 @@ ut_pmem_open_close(void)
 	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(pools_cnt, g_opened_pools);
 	CU_ASSERT_NOT_EQUAL(rc, 0);
 
-	/* Open good  pool */
+	/* Open pool with NULL name */
 	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, NULL, &bdev);
+	CU_ASSERT_PTR_NULL(bdev);
+	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(pools_cnt, g_opened_pools);
+	CU_ASSERT_NOT_EQUAL(rc, 0);
+
+	/* Open good pool */
+	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, g_bdev_name, &bdev);
 	SPDK_CU_ASSERT_FATAL(bdev != NULL);
 	CU_ASSERT_TRUE(g_pool_ok.is_open);
 	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(pools_cnt + 1, g_opened_pools);
@@ -461,7 +469,7 @@ ut_pmem_write_read(void)
 		{ 0, 4 * g_pool_ok.bsize },
 	};
 
-	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, NULL, &bdev);
+	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, g_bdev_name, &bdev);
 	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(rc, 0);
 
 	SPDK_CU_ASSERT_FATAL(g_pool_ok.nblock > 40);
@@ -635,7 +643,7 @@ ut_pmem_reset(void)
 	struct spdk_bdev *bdev;
 	int rc;
 
-	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, NULL, &bdev);
+	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, g_bdev_name, &bdev);
 	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(rc, 0);
 	SPDK_CU_ASSERT_FATAL(bdev != NULL);
 
@@ -655,7 +663,7 @@ ut_pmem_unmap_write_zero(int16_t io_type)
 	int rc;
 
 	CU_ASSERT(io_type == SPDK_BDEV_IO_TYPE_UNMAP || io_type == SPDK_BDEV_IO_TYPE_WRITE_ZEROES);
-	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, NULL, &bdev);
+	rc = spdk_create_pmem_disk(g_pool_ok.name, g_bdev_name, &bdev);
 	CU_ASSERT_EQUAL(rc, 0);
 	SPDK_CU_ASSERT_FATAL(bdev != NULL);
 	SPDK_CU_ASSERT_FATAL(g_pool_ok.nblock > 40);