diff --git a/HISTORY.md b/HISTORY.md
index 543ad6048..e873a20c2 100644
--- a/HISTORY.md
+++ b/HISTORY.md
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 # Rocksdb Change Log
+## Unreleased
+### Behavior Changes
+* When verifying full file checksum with `DB::VerifyFileChecksums()`, we now fail with `Status::InvalidArgument` if the name of the checksum generator used for verification does not match the name of the checksum generator used for protecting the file when it was created.
+
 ## 6.16.0 (12/18/2020)
 ### Behavior Changes
 * Attempting to write a merge operand without explicitly configuring `merge_operator` now fails immediately, causing the DB to enter read-only mode. Previously, failure was deferred until the `merge_operator` was needed by a user read or a background operation.
diff --git a/db/db_basic_test.cc b/db/db_basic_test.cc
index 257ce625c..5acc99868 100644
--- a/db/db_basic_test.cc
+++ b/db/db_basic_test.cc
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #if !defined(ROCKSDB_LITE)
 #include "test_util/sync_point.h"
 #endif
+#include "util/file_checksum_helper.h"
 #include "util/random.h"
 #include "utilities/fault_injection_env.h"
 #include "utilities/merge_operators.h"
@@ -3580,6 +3581,29 @@ TEST_F(DBBasicTest, VerifyFileChecksums) {
   ASSERT_OK(Flush());
 
   ASSERT_OK(db_->VerifyFileChecksums(ReadOptions()));
+
+  // Does the right thing but with the wrong name -- using it should lead to an
+  // error.
+  class MisnamedFileChecksumGenerator : public FileChecksumGenCrc32c {
+   public:
+    MisnamedFileChecksumGenerator(const FileChecksumGenContext& context)
+        : FileChecksumGenCrc32c(context) {}
+
+    const char* Name() const override { return "sha1"; }
+  };
+
+  class MisnamedFileChecksumGenFactory : public FileChecksumGenCrc32cFactory {
+   public:
+    std::unique_ptr<FileChecksumGenerator> CreateFileChecksumGenerator(
+        const FileChecksumGenContext& context) override {
+      return std::unique_ptr<FileChecksumGenerator>(
+          new MisnamedFileChecksumGenerator(context));
+    }
+  };
+
+  options.file_checksum_gen_factory.reset(new MisnamedFileChecksumGenFactory());
+  Reopen(options);
+  ASSERT_TRUE(db_->VerifyFileChecksums(ReadOptions()).IsInvalidArgument());
 }
 #endif  // !ROCKSDB_LITE
 
diff --git a/file/file_util.cc b/file/file_util.cc
index 4e92673d6..7da27f3c1 100644
--- a/file/file_util.cc
+++ b/file/file_util.cc
@@ -124,8 +124,10 @@ bool IsWalDirSameAsDBPath(const ImmutableDBOptions* db_options) {
 }
 
 // requested_checksum_func_name brings the function name of the checksum
-// generator in checksum_factory. Checksum factories may use or ignore
-// requested_checksum_func_name.
+// generator in checksum_factory. Empty string is permitted, in which case the
+// name of the generator created by the factory is unchecked. When
+// `requested_checksum_func_name` is non-empty, however, the created generator's
+// name must match it, otherwise an `InvalidArgument` error is returned.
 IOStatus GenerateOneFileChecksum(
     FileSystem* fs, const std::string& file_path,
     FileChecksumGenFactory* checksum_factory,
@@ -151,14 +153,22 @@ IOStatus GenerateOneFileChecksum(
         requested_checksum_func_name +
         " from checksum factory: " + checksum_factory->Name();
     return IOStatus::InvalidArgument(msg);
+  } else {
+    // For backward compatibility and use in file ingestion clients where there
+    // is no stored checksum function name, `requested_checksum_func_name` can
+    // be empty. If we give the requested checksum function name, we expect it
+    // is the same name of the checksum generator.
+    if (!requested_checksum_func_name.empty() &&
+        checksum_generator->Name() != requested_checksum_func_name) {
+      std::string msg = "Expected file checksum generator named '" +
+                        requested_checksum_func_name +
+                        "', while the factory created one "
+                        "named '" +
+                        checksum_generator->Name() + "'";
+      return IOStatus::InvalidArgument(msg);
+    }
   }
 
-  // For backward compatable, requested_checksum_func_name can be empty.
-  // If we give the requested checksum function name, we expect it is the
-  // same name of the checksum generator.
-  assert(!checksum_generator || requested_checksum_func_name.empty() ||
-         requested_checksum_func_name == checksum_generator->Name());
-
   uint64_t size;
   IOStatus io_s;
   std::unique_ptr<RandomAccessFileReader> reader;