diff --git a/.chloggen/make-display-required.yaml b/.chloggen/make-display-required.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..738d567de2a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/make-display-required.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Use this changelog template to create an entry for release notes.
+
+# One of 'breaking', 'deprecation', 'new_component', 'enhancement', 'bug_fix'
+change_type: enhancement
+
+# The name of the component, or a single word describing the area of concern, (e.g. receiver/otlp)
+component: cmd/mdatagen
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Make the `display_name` field required in metadata.yaml files used by mdatagen
+
+# One or more tracking issues or pull requests related to the change
+issues: [14114]
+
+# (Optional) One or more lines of additional information to render under the primary note.
+# These lines will be padded with 2 spaces and then inserted directly into the document.
+# Use pipe (|) for multiline entries.
+subtext:
+
+# Optional: The change log or logs in which this entry should be included.
+# e.g. '[user]' or '[user, api]'
+# Include 'user' if the change is relevant to end users.
+# Include 'api' if there is a change to a library API.
+# Default: '[user]'
+change_logs: [user]
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/loader_test.go b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/loader_test.go
index 7c4a0416904c..bbc8ddc573c0 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/loader_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/loader_test.go
@@ -589,6 +589,7 @@ func TestLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "testdata/parent.yaml",
 			want: Metadata{
 				Type:                 "subcomponent",
+				DisplayName:          "Subcomponent",
 				Parent:               "parentComponent",
 				GeneratedPackageName: "metadata",
 				ScopeName:            "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
@@ -601,6 +602,7 @@ func TestLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "testdata/generated_package_name.yaml",
 			want: Metadata{
 				Type:                 "custom",
+				DisplayName:          "Custom Receiver",
 				GeneratedPackageName: "customname",
 				ScopeName:            "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
 				PackageName:          "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
@@ -620,6 +622,7 @@ func TestLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "testdata/empty_test_config.yaml",
 			want: Metadata{
 				Type:                 "test",
+				DisplayName:          "Test Receiver",
 				GeneratedPackageName: "metadata",
 				ScopeName:            "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
 				PackageName:          "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
@@ -726,22 +729,8 @@ func TestLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 		{
-			name: "testdata/no_display_name.yaml",
-			want: Metadata{
-				Type:                 "nodisplayname",
-				DisplayName:          "",
-				GeneratedPackageName: "metadata",
-				ScopeName:            "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
-				PackageName:          "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
-				ShortFolderName:      "testdata",
-				Tests:                Tests{Host: "newMdatagenNopHost()"},
-				Status: &Status{
-					Class: "receiver",
-					Stability: map[component.StabilityLevel][]string{
-						component.StabilityLevelBeta: {"logs"},
-					},
-				},
-			},
+			name:    "testdata/no_display_name.yaml",
+			wantErr: "missing display_name",
 		},
 		{
 			name: "testdata/with_description.yaml",
@@ -766,6 +755,7 @@ func TestLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "testdata/with_underscore_in_semconv_ref_anchor_tag.yaml",
 			want: Metadata{
 				Type:                 "metricreceiver",
+				DisplayName:          "Metric Receiver",
 				GeneratedPackageName: "metadata",
 				SemConvVersion:       "1.40.0",
 				ScopeName:            "go.opentelemetry.io/collector/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata",
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata.go b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata.go
index 938654dc996f..d854e8580f1d 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata.go
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata.go
@@ -103,6 +103,10 @@ func (md *Metadata) Validate() error {
 		errs = errors.Join(errs, err)
 	}
 
+	if err := md.validateDisplayName(); err != nil {
+		errs = errors.Join(errs, err)
+	}
+
 	if md.Parent != "" {
 		if md.Status != nil {
 			// status is not required for subcomponents.
@@ -158,6 +162,13 @@ func (md *Metadata) validateType() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (md *Metadata) validateDisplayName() error {
+	if md.DisplayName == "" {
+		return errors.New("missing display_name")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (md *Metadata) validateResourceAttributes() error {
 	var errs error
 	for name, attr := range md.ResourceAttributes {
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata_test.go b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata_test.go
index 0a19a8bf4200..338575ce72af 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/metadata_test.go
@@ -611,7 +611,8 @@ func TestValidateConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			md := &Metadata{
-				Type: "test",
+				Type:        "test",
+				DisplayName: "Test Component",
 				Status: &Status{
 					Class: "exporter",
 					Stability: StabilityMap{
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/async_metric.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/async_metric.yaml
index 48bba1e958cf..ce14123b5e98 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/async_metric.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/async_metric.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metricreceiver
+display_name: Metric Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_connector.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_connector.yaml
index b485572eacaf..55ed009ade52 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_connector.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_connector.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: test
+display_name: Test Component
 
 status:
   class: connector
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_pkg.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_pkg.yaml
index 65f0244d0621..da5bd9338722 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_pkg.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_pkg.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: test
+display_name: Test Component
 
 status:
   class: pkg
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_receiver.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_receiver.yaml
index 3be443ea8f50..90935962d117 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_receiver.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/basic_receiver.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: test
+display_name: Test Component
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/custom_generated_package_name.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/custom_generated_package_name.yaml
index 9797baf3105b..2c23c1a97eb8 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/custom_generated_package_name.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/custom_generated_package_name.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metricreceiver
+display_name: Metric Receiver
 
 generated_package_name: custom
 
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/empty_test_config.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/empty_test_config.yaml
index 5b13e2dff33e..4ae7ab4b76f5 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/empty_test_config.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/empty_test_config.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: test
+display_name: Test Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_attributes.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_attributes.yaml
index 28d799a9bbbd..a568548d4f7f 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_attributes.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_attributes.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_types.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_types.yaml
index 4e7a9b79a4e3..98573545fcf7 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_types.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_duplicate_types.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_empty_id_attributes.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_empty_id_attributes.yaml
index 59f3342a9e8c..7193ecccb947 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_empty_id_attributes.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_empty_id_attributes.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_event_missing_association.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_event_missing_association.yaml
index dfc987a9eef4..b9313040a9c0 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_event_missing_association.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_event_missing_association.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metric_missing_association.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metric_missing_association.yaml
index 639c51db549a..6445ce7c05a1 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metric_missing_association.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metric_missing_association.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metrics_events_valid.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metrics_events_valid.yaml
index 441bd3f86bb6..ddc1187adf42 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metrics_events_valid.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_metrics_events_valid.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_bidirectional.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_bidirectional.yaml
index 0d722bc9a66d..3f748ba97195 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_bidirectional.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_bidirectional.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_target.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_target.yaml
index 1ccb213e1699..ec6a02ea947e 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_target.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_target.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_type.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_type.yaml
index 665152dd69f5..02936036f7df 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_type.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_empty_type.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_undefined_target.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_undefined_target.yaml
index c97f39526310..b2a77d5192aa 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_undefined_target.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_undefined_target.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_valid.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_valid.yaml
index 4f01a680dc3f..9c74e01a0895 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_valid.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_relationships_valid.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_single_metric_missing_association.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_single_metric_missing_association.yaml
index 1d00a4f34f72..217249a83a63 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_single_metric_missing_association.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_single_metric_missing_association.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_description_attribute.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_description_attribute.yaml
index 67c271730e5c..c2dd91dd1ab2 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_description_attribute.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_description_attribute.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_id_attribute.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_id_attribute.yaml
index 8eb448999df3..df229d474c66 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_id_attribute.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_id_attribute.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_reference.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_reference.yaml
index 36ce63198532..3466e4f0b74f 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_reference.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_undefined_reference.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_valid.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_valid.yaml
index f97a07100818..6f00fdd5b446 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_valid.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/entity_valid.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/events/basic_event.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/events/basic_event.yaml
index c7f311fc22a8..a28b0d621865 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/events/basic_event.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/events/basic_event.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: receiver
+display_name: Test Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/feature_gates.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/feature_gates.yaml
index 11b6b0894395..1fe2bf1662ab 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/feature_gates.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/feature_gates.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 status:
   class: receiver
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/generated_package_name.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/generated_package_name.yaml
index a880e69e6080..141c5560b15e 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/generated_package_name.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/generated_package_name.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: custom
+display_name: Custom Receiver
 
 generated_package_name: customname
 
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/metrics_and_type.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/metrics_and_type.yaml
index 537a56335ee9..444f736f3738 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/metrics_and_type.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/metrics_and_type.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metricreceiver
+display_name: Metric Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/parent.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/parent.yaml
index 1f8fc15ba176..fe12b3b03113 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/parent.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/parent.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 type: subcomponent
+display_name: Subcomponent
 
 parent: parentComponent
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/resource_attributes_only.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/resource_attributes_only.yaml
index a6fe611fe866..84b18de09a57 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/resource_attributes_only.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/resource_attributes_only.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: test
+display_name: Test Component
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/status_only.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/status_only.yaml
index d66977249dd0..9abf0b6da912 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/status_only.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/status_only.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metricreceiver
+display_name: Metric Receiver
 status:
   class: exporter
   stability:
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/unsorted_rattr.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/unsorted_rattr.yaml
index 8520678f7940..14aea2d0eb7b 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/unsorted_rattr.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/unsorted_rattr.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: sample
+display_name: Sample Component
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_conditional_attribute.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_conditional_attribute.yaml
index 0246020710d9..f09bd5c71b76 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_conditional_attribute.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_conditional_attribute.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: receiver
+display_name: Test Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_config.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_config.yaml
index 176fd3c8165e..10b92489b692 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_config.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_config.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: receiver
+display_name: Test Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_ignores.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_ignores.yaml
index f8699e3505ba..a3136d2508e5 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_ignores.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_ignores.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_setup.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_setup.yaml
index 03d356d29e01..56a495bf1427 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_setup.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_setup.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_skip.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_skip.yaml
index 1a1d7ece66d7..7f6c9da911dd 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_skip.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_skip.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_teardown.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_teardown.yaml
index ebdf0a316c39..86883290cdb0 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_teardown.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_goleak_teardown.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_invalid_config_ref.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_invalid_config_ref.yaml
index 71959786e185..e7223be03a38 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_invalid_config_ref.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_invalid_config_ref.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: receiver
+display_name: Test Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_telemetry.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_telemetry.yaml
index 212511683d91..da0f80b618ce 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_telemetry.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_telemetry.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metric
+display_name: Metric Component
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_connector.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_connector.yaml
index ae62532984e2..e5a0d0792128 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_connector.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_connector.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_exporter.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_exporter.yaml
index 44c9ccc5f9bc..59c65ed7d827 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_exporter.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_exporter.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metric
+display_name: Metric Component
 
 status:
   class: exporter
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_extension.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_extension.yaml
index 1f2012641556..f107e501d29d 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_extension.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_extension.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metric
+display_name: Metric Component
 
 status:
   class: extension
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_processor.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_processor.yaml
index d0df3f84f0e1..3f120472110c 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_processor.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_processor.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metric
+display_name: Metric Component
 
 status:
   class: processor
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_profiles_connector.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_profiles_connector.yaml
index 45e281acba7b..48c9951def6f 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_profiles_connector.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_profiles_connector.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: foobar
+display_name: Foobar Component
 
 status:
   disable_codecov_badge: true
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_receiver.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_receiver.yaml
index f3e35dc659c8..335900b68680 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_receiver.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_tests_receiver.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metric
+display_name: Metric Component
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_underscore_in_semconv_ref_anchor_tag.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_underscore_in_semconv_ref_anchor_tag.yaml
index bc05d3e47133..66cffbb44a1b 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_underscore_in_semconv_ref_anchor_tag.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/internal/testdata/with_underscore_in_semconv_ref_anchor_tag.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 type: metricreceiver
+display_name: Metric Receiver
 
 status:
   class: receiver
diff --git a/cmd/mdatagen/metadata-schema.yaml b/cmd/mdatagen/metadata-schema.yaml
index 352522aea03a..23207c4cc4f4 100644
--- a/cmd/mdatagen/metadata-schema.yaml
+++ b/cmd/mdatagen/metadata-schema.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ type:
 # Optional: A deprecated type that is still available as an alias.
 deprecated_type: string
 
-# Optional: Human-readable display name for the component. Used as the title in generated README files.
+# Required: Human-readable display name for the component. Used as the title in generated README files.
 display_name: string
 
 # Optional: Brief description of the component that will be included in the generated README.