diff --git a/pkg/dds/CHANGELOG.md b/pkg/dds/CHANGELOG.md
index 13597fe7542..eea03378ea6 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/pkg/dds/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+# 5.3.0
+
+- Add `--app-name` option to `dart development-service`. This is a short, user
+  focused name to describe the application being debugged.
+
 # 5.2.0
 
 - [DAP] `Stopped(reason: 'entry')` events will no longer be lost if an isolate has not yet reached the `PauseStart` state when connecting to the VM.
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/dds.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/dds.dart
index 3ad37da4c81..bac6cdf9db2 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/dds.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/dds.dart
@@ -44,8 +44,13 @@ abstract class DartDevelopmentService {
   ///
   /// If [enablesServicePortFallback] is enabled, DDS will attempt to bind to any
   /// available port if the specified port is unavailable.
+  ///
+  /// [appName] is a short description of the application that is being served
+  /// by the vm service, and will be sent as the `name` when registering the vm
+  /// service with the Dart Tooling Daemon.
   static Future<DartDevelopmentService> startDartDevelopmentService(
     Uri remoteVmServiceUri, {
+    String? appName,
     Uri? serviceUri,
     bool enableAuthCodes = true,
     bool ipv6 = false,
@@ -98,6 +103,7 @@ abstract class DartDevelopmentService {
       logRequests,
       enableServicePortFallback,
       uriConverter,
+      appName,
     );
     await service.startService();
     return service;
@@ -115,6 +121,10 @@ abstract class DartDevelopmentService {
   /// Throws a [StateError] if DevTools is already being served by DDS.
   void setExternalDevToolsUri(Uri uri);
 
+  /// The name of the application that is being served by the vm service if
+  /// provided.
+  String? get appName;
+
   /// Set to `true` if this instance of [DartDevelopmentService] requires an
   /// authentication code to connect.
   bool get authCodesEnabled;
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/dds_launcher.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/dds_launcher.dart
index 9215d065c87..1333ac7cd31 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/dds_launcher.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/dds_launcher.dart
@@ -45,9 +45,13 @@ import 'src/dds_impl.dart';
 /// If provided, [dartExecutable] is the path to the 'dart' executable that
 /// should be used to spawn the DDS instance. By default, `Platform.executable`
 /// is used.
+///
+/// If provided, [appName] is a short user focused description of the
+/// application, used to help identify it.
 class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
   static Future<DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher> start({
     required Uri remoteVmServiceUri,
+    String? appName,
     Uri? serviceUri,
     bool enableAuthCodes = true,
     bool serveDevTools = false,
@@ -72,6 +76,8 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
         '--${DartDevelopmentServiceOptions.enableServicePortFallbackFlag}',
       if (google3WorkspaceRoot != null)
         '--${DartDevelopmentServiceOptions.google3WorkspaceRootOption}=$google3WorkspaceRoot',
+      if (appName != null)
+        '--${DartDevelopmentServiceOptions.appNameOption}=$appName',
     ];
     late String executable;
     if (dartExecutable == null) {
@@ -80,7 +86,8 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
       // then invoke it directly as it would avoid the additional hop
       // of going through the dart CLI process to invoke dds.
       executable = Platform.executable;
-      var sdkPath = path.absolute(path.dirname(path.dirname(executable)), 'bin');
+      var sdkPath =
+          path.absolute(path.dirname(path.dirname(executable)), 'bin');
       var snapshotsDir = path.join(sdkPath, 'snapshots');
       final type = FileSystemEntity.typeSync(snapshotsDir);
       if (type != FileSystemEntityType.directory &&
@@ -91,12 +98,12 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
         sdkPath = path.absolute(path.dirname(executable));
         snapshotsDir = sdkPath;
       }
-      final dartAotRuntime = path.absolute(
-          sdkPath, Platform.isWindows ? 'dartaotruntime.exe' : 'dartaotruntime');
+      final dartAotRuntime = path.absolute(sdkPath,
+          Platform.isWindows ? 'dartaotruntime.exe' : 'dartaotruntime');
       final ddsAotSnapshot =
           path.absolute(snapshotsDir, 'dds_aot.dart.snapshot');
-      if (File(dartAotRuntime).existsSync()
-          && File(ddsAotSnapshot).existsSync()) {
+      if (File(dartAotRuntime).existsSync() &&
+          File(ddsAotSnapshot).existsSync()) {
         executable = dartAotRuntime;
         args = [ddsAotSnapshot, ...args];
       } else {
@@ -132,6 +139,7 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
             uri: ddsUri,
             devToolsUri: devToolsUri,
             dtdUri: dtdUri,
+            appName: appName,
           ),
         );
       } else if (result
@@ -159,10 +167,15 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
     required this.uri,
     required this.devToolsUri,
     required this.dtdUri,
+    required this.appName,
   }) : _ddsInstance = process;
 
   final Process _ddsInstance;
 
+  /// A short, user focused description of the application that DDS will
+  /// connect to.
+  final String? appName;
+
   /// The [Uri] VM service clients can use to communicate with this
   /// DDS instance via HTTP.
   final Uri uri;
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/src/arg_parser.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/src/arg_parser.dart
index 116d446ba54..e917588f116 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/src/arg_parser.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/src/arg_parser.dart
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ abstract class DartDevelopmentServiceOptions {
   static const cachedUserTagsOption = 'cached-user-tags';
   static const devToolsServerAddressOption = 'devtools-server-address';
   static const google3WorkspaceRootOption = 'google3-workspace-root';
+  static const appNameOption = 'app-name';
 
   static ArgParser createArgParser({
     int? usageLineLength,
@@ -84,6 +85,11 @@ abstract class DartDevelopmentServiceOptions {
         help: 'Sets the Google3 workspace root used for google3:// URI '
             'resolution.',
         hide: !verbose,
+      )
+      ..addOption(
+        appNameOption,
+        help: 'A short, user focused description of the application that DDS '
+            'will connect to.',
       );
     if (includeHelp) {
       argParser.addFlag('help', negatable: false);
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_cli_entrypoint.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_cli_entrypoint.dart
index e3622f8cf94..198b4808df3 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_cli_entrypoint.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_cli_entrypoint.dart
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ ${argParser.usage}
           : null,
       enableServicePortFallback: enableServicePortFallback,
       uriConverter: uriConverter,
+      appName: argResults[DartDevelopmentServiceOptions.appNameOption],
     );
     final dtdInfo = dds.hostedDartToolingDaemon;
     stderr.write(json.encode({
@@ -153,6 +154,7 @@ ${argParser.usage}
           // is no mechanism for exposing URIs.
           'uri': dtdInfo.localUri.toString(),
         },
+      'name': dds.appName,
     }));
   } catch (e, st) {
     writeErrorResponse(e, st);
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_impl.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_impl.dart
index cdd38bbfc34..59807db49d9 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_impl.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/src/dds_impl.dart
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceImpl implements DartDevelopmentService {
     this.shouldLogRequests,
     this._enableServicePortFallback,
     this.uriConverter,
+    this.appName,
   ) {
     _clientManager = ClientManager(this);
     _expressionEvaluator = ExpressionEvaluator(this);
@@ -281,6 +282,7 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceImpl implements DartDevelopmentService {
       await dtdClient.registerVmService(
         uri: wsUri!.toString(),
         secret: hostedDtd.secret!,
+        name: appName,
       );
       // Immediately close this client after registering the VM service. The
       // VM service will be automatically unregistered from DTD when the VM
@@ -562,6 +564,9 @@ class DartDevelopmentServiceImpl implements DartDevelopmentService {
   bool _initializationComplete = false;
   bool _shuttingDown = false;
 
+  @override
+  final String? appName;
+
   UriConverter? uriConverter;
   PackageUriConverter get packageUriConverter => _packageUriConverter;
   late PackageUriConverter _packageUriConverter;
diff --git a/pkg/dds/lib/src/devtools/dtd.dart b/pkg/dds/lib/src/devtools/dtd.dart
index aad01af208a..0855417bca8 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/lib/src/devtools/dtd.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/lib/src/devtools/dtd.dart
@@ -69,21 +69,15 @@ Future<DtdInfo?> startDtd({
   required bool printDtdUri,
 }) async {
   final snapshotDir = getDTDSnapshotDir();
-  final dtdAotSnapshot =  path.absolute(
+  final dtdAotSnapshot = path.absolute(
     snapshotDir,
     'dart_tooling_daemon_aot.dart.snapshot',
   );
   final completer = Completer<DtdInfo?>();
-  void completeForError() => completer.complete(null);
+  void completeForError([_]) => completer.complete(null);
 
-  final exitPort = ReceivePort()
-    ..listen((_) {
-      completeForError();
-    });
-  final errorPort = ReceivePort()
-    ..listen((_) {
-      completeForError();
-    });
+  final exitPort = ReceivePort()..listen(completeForError);
+  final errorPort = ReceivePort()..listen(completeForError);
   final receivePort = ReceivePort()
     ..listen((message) {
       try {
@@ -122,10 +116,10 @@ Future<DtdInfo?> startDtd({
       onExit: exitPort.sendPort,
       onError: errorPort.sendPort,
     );
-  } catch (_, __) {
+  } catch (_) {
     // Spawning an isolate using the AOT snapshot of the tooling daemon failed,
     // try again using the JIT snapshot of the tooling daemon.
-    final dtdSnapshot =  path.absolute(
+    final dtdSnapshot = path.absolute(
       snapshotDir,
       'dart_tooling_daemon.dart.snapshot',
     );
@@ -137,7 +131,7 @@ Future<DtdInfo?> startDtd({
         onExit: exitPort.sendPort,
         onError: errorPort.sendPort,
       );
-    } catch (_, __) {
+    } catch (_) {
       completeForError();
     }
   }
diff --git a/pkg/dds/pubspec.yaml b/pkg/dds/pubspec.yaml
index 7e6cb2b7d57..301c96b8c80 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pkg/dds/pubspec.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: dds
-version: 5.2.0
+version: 5.3.0
 description: >-
   A library used to spawn the Dart Developer Service, used to communicate with
   a Dart VM Service instance.
diff --git a/pkg/dds/test/dap/mocks.dart b/pkg/dds/test/dap/mocks.dart
index 7a4c3a707ab..38d380cc0c5 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/test/dap/mocks.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/test/dap/mocks.dart
@@ -270,6 +270,9 @@ class MockDartDevelopmentServiceLauncher
     implements DartDevelopmentServiceLauncher {
   MockDartDevelopmentServiceLauncher();
 
+  @override
+  String? get appName => throw UnimplementedError();
+
   @override
   Uri? get devToolsUri => throw UnimplementedError();
 
diff --git a/pkg/dds/test/launcher_smoke_test.dart b/pkg/dds/test/launcher_smoke_test.dart
index 66c612fc0bd..e2222347ad4 100644
--- a/pkg/dds/test/launcher_smoke_test.dart
+++ b/pkg/dds/test/launcher_smoke_test.dart
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import 'dart:convert';
 import 'dart:io';
 
 import 'package:dds/dds_launcher.dart';
+import 'package:dtd/dtd.dart';
 import 'package:test/test.dart';
 import 'package:vm_service/vm_service_io.dart';
 
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ void main() {
     }
 
     test(
-      'External DevTools address is reported correctly',
+      'External DevTools address and appName are reported correctly',
       () async {
         final fakeDevToolsUri =
             Uri.parse('http://localhost:12345/my_devtools/');
@@ -75,10 +76,25 @@ void main() {
           remoteVmServiceUri: remoteVmServiceUri,
           serveDevTools: true,
           devToolsServerAddress: fakeDevToolsUri,
+          appName: 'my-app',
         );
 
         expect(dds.devToolsUri,
             fakeDevToolsUri.replace(query: 'uri=${dds.wsUri.toString()}'));
+
+        expect(dds.appName, 'my-app');
+        final dtdUri = dds.dtdUri;
+        expect(dtdUri, isNotNull);
+
+        final dtdClient = await DartToolingDaemon.connect(dtdUri!);
+        try {
+          final response = await dtdClient.getVmServices();
+          final vmServiceInfo = response.vmServicesInfos
+              .firstWhere((info) => info.name == 'my-app');
+          expect(vmServiceInfo.uri, dds.wsUri.toString());
+        } finally {
+          await dtdClient.close();
+        }
       },
     );
 
diff --git a/utils/dds/BUILD.gn b/utils/dds/BUILD.gn
index 48643d00033..cf037837692 100644
--- a/utils/dds/BUILD.gn
+++ b/utils/dds/BUILD.gn
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ group("dds_aot") {
   public_deps = [
     ":dds_aot_product_snapshot",
     ":dds_aot_snapshot",
+    "../dtd:dtd_aot_snapshot",
   ]
 }
 
@@ -32,7 +33,10 @@ aot_snapshot("dds_aot_product_snapshot") {
 }
 
 group("dds") {
-  public_deps = [ ":copy_dds_snapshot" ]
+  public_deps = [
+    ":copy_dds_snapshot",
+    "../dtd",
+  ]
 }
 
 copy("copy_dds_snapshot") {