diff --git a/release-notes/v1.7.0-rc1.yaml b/release-notes/v1.7.0-rc.1.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from release-notes/v1.7.0-rc1.yaml
rename to release-notes/v1.7.0-rc.1.yaml
diff --git a/tools/hack/check-release-notes-filenames.sh b/tools/hack/check-release-notes-filenames.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..12c3a46b68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/hack/check-release-notes-filenames.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Copyright Envoy Gateway Authors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# The full text of the Apache license is available in the LICENSE file at
+# the root of the repo.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd "${SCRIPT_DIR}/../.." && pwd)"
+RELEASE_NOTES_DIR="${ROOT_DIR}/release-notes"
+
+# Check if release-notes directory exists
+if [[ ! -d "${RELEASE_NOTES_DIR}" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: release-notes directory not found at ${RELEASE_NOTES_DIR}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Valid patterns:
+# - current.yaml
+# - vX.Y.Z.yaml (e.g., v1.2.3.yaml)
+# - vX.Y.Z-rc.M.yaml (e.g., v1.0.0-rc.1.yaml)
+
+VALID_PATTERN='^(current|v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(-rc\.[0-9]+)?)\.yaml$'
+
+# Legacy files to ignore (grandfathered in)
+LEGACY_FILES=(
+    "v0.2.0-rc1.yaml"
+    "v0.2.0-rc2.yaml"
+)
+
+INVALID_FILES=()
+
+# Check all .yaml files in release-notes directory
+while IFS= read -r -d '' file; do
+    filename="$(basename "${file}")"
+    
+    # Skip if it's a legacy file
+    is_legacy=false
+    for legacy in "${LEGACY_FILES[@]}"; do
+        if [[ "${filename}" == "${legacy}" ]]; then
+            is_legacy=true
+            break
+        fi
+    done
+    
+    if [[ "${is_legacy}" == "true" ]]; then
+        continue
+    fi
+    
+    if [[ ! "${filename}" =~ ${VALID_PATTERN} ]]; then
+        INVALID_FILES+=("${filename}")
+    fi
+done < <(find "${RELEASE_NOTES_DIR}" -maxdepth 1 -type f -name "*.yaml" -print0)
+
+# Report results
+if [[ ${#INVALID_FILES[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
+    echo "❌ Invalid release notes filenames found:"
+    for file in "${INVALID_FILES[@]}"; do
+        echo "  - ${file}"
+    done
+    echo ""
+    echo "Valid formats:"
+    echo "  - current.yaml"
+    echo "  - vX.Y.Z.yaml (e.g., v1.2.3.yaml)"
+    echo "  - vX.Y.Z-rc.M.yaml (e.g., v1.0.0-rc.1.yaml)"
+    exit 1
+else
+    echo "✅ All release notes filenames are valid"
+fi
diff --git a/tools/make/lint.mk b/tools/make/lint.mk
index ad8f38427f..883b4afff9 100644
--- a/tools/make/lint.mk
+++ b/tools/make/lint.mk
@@ -118,3 +118,9 @@ lint: lint.dependabot
 lint.dependabot: ## Check if dependabot configuration is valid
 	@$(LOG_TARGET)
 	@npx @bugron/validate-dependabot-yaml .github/dependabot.yml
+
+.PHONY: lint.release-notes-filenames
+lint: lint.release-notes-filenames
+lint.release-notes-filenames: ## Check if release notes filenames follow naming conventions
+	@$(LOG_TARGET)
+	@tools/hack/check-release-notes-filenames.sh