diff --git a/ddtrace/_trace/span.py b/ddtrace/_trace/span.py
index 4ca5cb34a27..50be511589f 100644
--- a/ddtrace/_trace/span.py
+++ b/ddtrace/_trace/span.py
@@ -593,7 +593,7 @@ def record_exception(
             # User provided attributes must take precedence over attrs
             attrs.update(attributes)
 
-        self._add_event(name="recorded exception", attributes=attrs, timestamp=timestamp)
+        self._add_event(name="exception", attributes=attrs, timestamp=timestamp)
 
     def _pprint(self) -> str:
         """Return a human readable version of the span."""
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/fix-exception-events-name-34fcaa4d49987935.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/fix-exception-events-name-34fcaa4d49987935.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..910a524c32c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/fix-exception-events-name-34fcaa4d49987935.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    tracing: Changes the name of the span event generated by a record_exception
+    call as it was not following OTEL semantics.