diff --git a/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool.go b/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool.go
index bd00b7dc6..c14d74003 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func (p *ReplicatedSpec) IsTargetRatioEnabled() bool {
 func (p *CephBlockPool) ValidateCreate() error {
 	logger.Infof("validate create cephblockpool %v", p)
 
-	err := ValidateCephBlockPool(&p.Spec)
+	err := ValidateCephBlockPool(p)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -61,14 +61,14 @@ func (p *CephBlockPool) ValidateCreate() error {
 }
 
 // ValidateCephBlockPool validates specifically a CephBlockPool's spec (not just any NamedPoolSpec)
-func ValidateCephBlockPool(s *NamedBlockPoolSpec) error {
-	if s.Name == "device_health_metrics" || s.Name == ".mgr" || s.Name == ".nfs" {
-		if s.IsErasureCoded() {
-			return errors.Errorf("invalid CephBlockPool spec: ceph built-in pool %q cannot be erasure coded", s.Name)
+func ValidateCephBlockPool(p *CephBlockPool) error {
+	if p.Spec.Name == "device_health_metrics" || p.Spec.Name == ".mgr" || p.Spec.Name == ".nfs" {
+		if p.Spec.IsErasureCoded() {
+			return errors.Errorf("invalid CephBlockPool spec: ceph built-in pool %q cannot be erasure coded", p.Name)
 		}
 	}
 
-	return validatePoolSpec(s.ToNamedPoolSpec())
+	return validatePoolSpec(p.ToNamedPoolSpec())
 }
 
 // validate any NamedPoolSpec
@@ -98,17 +98,23 @@ func validatePoolSpec(ps NamedPoolSpec) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (p *NamedBlockPoolSpec) ToNamedPoolSpec() NamedPoolSpec {
+func (p *CephBlockPool) ToNamedPoolSpec() NamedPoolSpec {
+	// If the name is not overridden in the pool spec.name, set it to the name of the pool CR
+	name := p.Spec.Name
+	if name == "" {
+		// Set the name of the pool CR since a name override wasn't specified in the spec
+		name = p.Name
+	}
 	return NamedPoolSpec{
-		Name:     p.Name,
-		PoolSpec: p.PoolSpec,
+		Name:     name,
+		PoolSpec: p.Spec.PoolSpec,
 	}
 }
 
 func (p *CephBlockPool) ValidateUpdate(old runtime.Object) error {
 	logger.Info("validate update cephblockpool")
 	ocbp := old.(*CephBlockPool)
-	err := ValidateCephBlockPool(&p.Spec)
+	err := ValidateCephBlockPool(p)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool_test.go b/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool_test.go
index 95de4d917..1b37403c1 100644
--- a/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool_test.go
+++ b/pkg/apis/ceph.rook.io/v1/pool_test.go
@@ -37,11 +37,11 @@ func TestValidatePoolSpec(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 	}
-	err := validatePoolSpec(p.Spec.ToNamedPoolSpec())
+	err := validatePoolSpec(p.ToNamedPoolSpec())
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	p.Spec.ErasureCoded.DataChunks = 1
-	err = validatePoolSpec(p.Spec.ToNamedPoolSpec())
+	err = validatePoolSpec(p.ToNamedPoolSpec())
 	assert.Error(t, err)
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller.go
index 9c168d436..432f52143 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller.go
@@ -221,10 +221,6 @@ func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcile(request reconcile.Request) (reconcile
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Set the name of the Ceph pool to be reconciled internally, which
-	// may be different from the pool CR name.
-	cephBlockPool.Spec.Name = getCephName(*cephBlockPool)
-
 	// DELETE: the CR was deleted
 	if !cephBlockPool.GetDeletionTimestamp().IsZero() {
 		deps, err := cephBlockPoolDependents(r.context, r.clusterInfo, cephBlockPool)
@@ -242,8 +238,8 @@ func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcile(request reconcile.Request) (reconcile
 
 		r.recorder.Event(cephBlockPool, corev1.EventTypeNormal, string(cephv1.ReconcileStarted), "starting blockpool deletion")
 
-		logger.Infof("deleting pool %q", cephBlockPool.Name)
-		poolSpec := cephBlockPool.Spec.ToNamedPoolSpec()
+		poolSpec := cephBlockPool.ToNamedPoolSpec()
+		logger.Infof("deleting pool %q", poolSpec.Name)
 		err = deletePool(r.context, clusterInfo, &poolSpec)
 		if err != nil {
 			return opcontroller.ImmediateRetryResult, *cephBlockPool, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to delete pool %q. ", cephBlockPool.Name)
@@ -299,7 +295,7 @@ func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcile(request reconcile.Request) (reconcile
 		return reconcile.Result{}, *cephBlockPool, errors.Wrap(err, "failed to enable/disable stats collection for pool(s)")
 	}
 
-	poolSpec := cephBlockPool.Spec.ToNamedPoolSpec()
+	poolSpec := cephBlockPool.ToNamedPoolSpec()
 	checker := newMirrorChecker(r.context, r.client, r.clusterInfo, request.NamespacedName, &poolSpec)
 	// ADD PEERS
 	logger.Debug("reconciling create rbd mirror peer configuration")
@@ -361,7 +357,7 @@ func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcile(request reconcile.Request) (reconcile
 }
 
 func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcileCreatePool(clusterInfo *cephclient.ClusterInfo, cephCluster *cephv1.ClusterSpec, cephBlockPool *cephv1.CephBlockPool) (reconcile.Result, error) {
-	poolSpec := cephBlockPool.Spec.ToNamedPoolSpec()
+	poolSpec := cephBlockPool.ToNamedPoolSpec()
 	err := createPool(r.context, clusterInfo, cephCluster, &poolSpec)
 	if err != nil {
 		return opcontroller.ImmediateRetryResult, errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to create pool %q.", cephBlockPool.GetName())
@@ -371,19 +367,6 @@ func (r *ReconcileCephBlockPool) reconcileCreatePool(clusterInfo *cephclient.Clu
 	return reconcile.Result{}, nil
 }
 
-func getCephName(pool cephv1.CephBlockPool) string {
-	// If the name is not overridden in the pool spec.name, set it to the name of the pool CR
-	if pool.Spec.Name == "" {
-		return pool.Name
-	}
-	if pool.Spec.Name == pool.Name {
-		// The same pool name is set, nothing is being overridden
-		return pool.Name
-	}
-	// The pool names that can be allowed to be overridden are enforced in the crd schema
-	return pool.Spec.Name
-}
-
 // Create the pool
 func createPool(context *clusterd.Context, clusterInfo *cephclient.ClusterInfo, clusterSpec *cephv1.ClusterSpec, p *cephv1.NamedPoolSpec) error {
 	// Set the application name to rbd by default, but override for special pools
@@ -445,7 +428,7 @@ func configureRBDStats(clusterContext *clusterd.Context, clusterInfo *cephclient
 	for _, cephBlockPool := range cephBlockPoolList.Items {
 		if cephBlockPool.GetDeletionTimestamp() == nil && cephBlockPool.Spec.EnableRBDStats {
 			// add to list of CephBlockPool with enableRBDStats set to true and not marked for deletion
-			enableStatsForPools = append(enableStatsForPools, getCephName(cephBlockPool))
+			enableStatsForPools = append(enableStatsForPools, cephBlockPool.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name)
 		}
 	}
 	logger.Debugf("RBD per-image IO statistics will be collected for pools: %v", enableStatsForPools)
diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller_test.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller_test.go
index 4035c3a1c..5e7930aa2 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/controller_test.go
@@ -123,22 +123,27 @@ func TestCreatePool(t *testing.T) {
 func TestCephPoolName(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("spec not set", func(t *testing.T) {
 		p := cephv1.CephBlockPool{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "metapool"}}
-		name := getCephName(p)
+		name := p.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name
 		assert.Equal(t, "metapool", name)
 	})
 	t.Run("same name already set", func(t *testing.T) {
 		p := cephv1.CephBlockPool{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "metapool"}, Spec: cephv1.NamedBlockPoolSpec{Name: "metapool"}}
-		name := getCephName(p)
+		name := p.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name
 		assert.Equal(t, "metapool", name)
 	})
 	t.Run("override device metrics", func(t *testing.T) {
 		p := cephv1.CephBlockPool{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "device-metrics"}, Spec: cephv1.NamedBlockPoolSpec{Name: "device_health_metrics"}}
-		name := getCephName(p)
+		name := p.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name
 		assert.Equal(t, "device_health_metrics", name)
 	})
+	t.Run("override mgr", func(t *testing.T) {
+		p := cephv1.CephBlockPool{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "default-mgr"}, Spec: cephv1.NamedBlockPoolSpec{Name: ".mgr"}}
+		name := p.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name
+		assert.Equal(t, ".mgr", name)
+	})
 	t.Run("override nfs", func(t *testing.T) {
 		p := cephv1.CephBlockPool{ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{Name: "default-nfs"}, Spec: cephv1.NamedBlockPoolSpec{Name: ".nfs"}}
-		name := getCephName(p)
+		name := p.ToNamedPoolSpec().Name
 		assert.Equal(t, ".nfs", name)
 	})
 }
diff --git a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/validate.go b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/validate.go
index 75963a886..c607b917c 100644
--- a/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/validate.go
+++ b/pkg/operator/ceph/pool/validate.go
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func validatePool(context *clusterd.Context, clusterInfo *cephclient.ClusterInfo
 		return errors.New("missing namespace")
 	}
 
-	if err := cephv1.ValidateCephBlockPool(&p.Spec); err != nil {
+	if err := cephv1.ValidateCephBlockPool(p); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}