diff --git a/.chloggen/splunk_enforce_metrics_naming_regex.yaml b/.chloggen/splunk_enforce_metrics_naming_regex.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7655caae0b57f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.chloggen/splunk_enforce_metrics_naming_regex.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# 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. filelogreceiver)
+component: receiver/splunkhec
+
+# A brief description of the change.  Surround your text with quotes ("") if it needs to start with a backtick (`).
+note: Add a regex to enforce metrics naming for Splunk events fields based on metrics documentation.
+
+# Mandatory: One or more tracking issues related to the change. You can use the PR number here if no issue exists.
+issues: [34275]
+
+# (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:
+
+# If your change doesn't affect end users or the exported elements of any package,
+# you should instead start your pull request title with [chore] or use the "Skip Changelog" label.
+# 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/internal/splunk/common.go b/internal/splunk/common.go
index a98d064b6513e..c6b4f67e6e4d2 100644
--- a/internal/splunk/common.go
+++ b/internal/splunk/common.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package splunk // import "github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-cont
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
+	"regexp"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -31,6 +32,14 @@ const (
 	DefaultRawPath     = "/services/collector/raw"
 	DefaultHealthPath  = "/services/collector/health"
 	DefaultAckPath     = "/services/collector/ack"
+
+	// https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/9.2.1/Metrics/Overview#What_is_a_metric_data_point.3F
+	// metric name can contain letters, numbers, underscore, dot or colon. cannot start with number or underscore, or contain metric_name
+	metricNamePattern = "^metric_name:([A-Za-z\\.:][A-Za-z0-9_\\.:]*)$"
+)
+
+var (
+	metricNameRegexp = regexp.MustCompile(metricNamePattern)
 )
 
 // AccessTokenPassthroughConfig configures passing through access tokens.
@@ -55,6 +64,18 @@ func (e *Event) IsMetric() bool {
 	return e.Event == HecEventMetricType || (e.Event == nil && len(e.GetMetricValues()) > 0)
 }
 
+// checks if the field name matches the requirements for a metric datapoint field,
+// and returns the metric name and a bool indicating whether the field is a metric.
+func getMetricNameFromField(fieldName string) (string, bool) {
+	// only consider metric name if it fits regex criteria.
+	// use matches[1] since first element contains entire string.
+	// first subgroup will be the actual metric name.
+	if matches := metricNameRegexp.FindStringSubmatch(fieldName); len(matches) > 1 {
+		return matches[1], !strings.Contains(matches[1], "metric_name")
+	}
+	return "", false
+}
+
 // GetMetricValues extracts metric key value pairs from a Splunk HEC metric.
 func (e *Event) GetMetricValues() map[string]any {
 	if v, ok := e.Fields["metric_name"]; ok {
@@ -63,8 +84,8 @@ func (e *Event) GetMetricValues() map[string]any {
 
 	values := map[string]any{}
 	for k, v := range e.Fields {
-		if strings.HasPrefix(k, "metric_name:") {
-			values[k[12:]] = v
+		if metricName, ok := getMetricNameFromField(k); ok {
+			values[metricName] = v
 		}
 	}
 	return values
diff --git a/internal/splunk/common_test.go b/internal/splunk/common_test.go
index 5ec5971533515..f4d2d2f3a63f4 100644
--- a/internal/splunk/common_test.go
+++ b/internal/splunk/common_test.go
@@ -16,10 +16,21 @@ func TestGetValues(t *testing.T) {
 		Fields: map[string]any{},
 	}
 	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{}, metric.GetMetricValues())
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:x"] = "y"
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"x": "y"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
 	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo"] = "bar"
-	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"foo": "bar"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"x": "y", "foo": "bar"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
 	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo2"] = "foobar"
-	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"foo": "bar", "foo2": "foobar"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"x": "y", "foo": "bar", "foo2": "foobar"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo:123_456.Bar"] = "quux"
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"x": "y", "foo": "bar", "foo2": "foobar", "foo:123_456.Bar": "quux"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
+	// fields that aren't allowed
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo bar"] = "baz"             // contains space
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo?"] = "baz"                // illegal character
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:1stfoo"] = "baz"              // starts with number
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:_foo"] = "baz"                // starts with underscore
+	metric.Fields["metric_name:foo_metric_name:bar"] = "baz" // name contains "metric_name"
+	assert.Equal(t, map[string]any{"x": "y", "foo": "bar", "foo2": "foobar", "foo:123_456.Bar": "quux"}, metric.GetMetricValues())
 }
 
 func TestSingleValue(t *testing.T) {