diff --git a/marklogic-client-api/src/main/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteFilter.java b/marklogic-client-api/src/main/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteFilter.java
index cb14f469b..b87f29ccb 100644
--- a/marklogic-client-api/src/main/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteFilter.java
+++ b/marklogic-client-api/src/main/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteFilter.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2010-2025 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2026 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
  */
 package com.marklogic.client.datamovement.filter;
 
@@ -50,7 +50,10 @@ public static class Builder {
 		 * @param keyName the name of the MarkLogic metadata key that will hold the hash value; defaults to "incrementalWriteHash".
 		 */
 		public Builder hashKeyName(String keyName) {
-			this.hashKeyName = keyName;
+			// Don't let user shoot themselves in the foot with an empty key name.
+			if (keyName != null && !keyName.trim().isEmpty()) {
+				this.hashKeyName = keyName;
+			}
 			return this;
 		}
 
@@ -58,7 +61,10 @@ public Builder hashKeyName(String keyName) {
 		 * @param keyName the name of the MarkLogic metadata key that will hold the timestamp value; defaults to "incrementalWriteTimestamp".
 		 */
 		public Builder timestampKeyName(String keyName) {
-			this.timestampKeyName = keyName;
+			// Don't let user shoot themselves in the foot with an empty key name.
+			if (keyName != null && !keyName.trim().isEmpty()) {
+				this.timestampKeyName = keyName;
+			}
 			return this;
 		}
 
diff --git a/marklogic-client-api/src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteTest.java b/marklogic-client-api/src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteTest.java
index 47ea0d28d..95bda1326 100644
--- a/marklogic-client-api/src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteTest.java
+++ b/marklogic-client-api/src/test/java/com/marklogic/client/datamovement/filter/IncrementalWriteTest.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2010-2025 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2010-2026 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
  */
 package com.marklogic.client.datamovement.filter;
 
@@ -181,6 +181,43 @@ void noRangeIndexForFieldWithEval() {
 				"fail with a helpful error message. Actual message: " + message);
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	void customTimestampKeyName() {
+		filter = IncrementalWriteFilter.newBuilder()
+			.hashKeyName("incrementalWriteHash")
+			.timestampKeyName("myTimestamp")
+			.build();
+
+		writeTenDocuments();
+
+		DocumentMetadataHandle metadata = Common.client.newDocumentManager().readMetadata("/incremental/test/doc-1.xml",
+			new DocumentMetadataHandle());
+
+		assertNotNull(metadata.getMetadataValues().get("myTimestamp"));
+		assertNotNull(metadata.getMetadataValues().get("incrementalWriteHash"));
+		assertFalse(metadata.getMetadataValues().containsKey("incrementalWriteTimestamp"));
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * The thought for this test is that if the user passes null in (which could happen via our Spark connector),
+	 * they're breaking the feature. So don't let them do that - ignore null and use the default values.
+	 */
+	@Test
+	void nullIsIgnoredForKeyNames() {
+		filter = IncrementalWriteFilter.newBuilder()
+			.hashKeyName(null)
+			.timestampKeyName(null)
+			.build();
+
+		writeTenDocuments();
+
+		DocumentMetadataHandle metadata = Common.client.newDocumentManager().readMetadata("/incremental/test/doc-1.xml",
+			new DocumentMetadataHandle());
+
+		assertNotNull(metadata.getMetadataValues().get("incrementalWriteHash"));
+		assertNotNull(metadata.getMetadataValues().get("incrementalWriteTimestamp"));
+	}
+
 	private void verifyIncrementalWriteWorks() {
 		writeTenDocuments();
 		verifyDocumentsHasHashInMetadataKey();