diff --git a/.changelog/1740.txt b/.changelog/1740.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b8e8327b51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog/1740.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:enhancement
+resource/cloudflare_record: Validate that DNS record names are non-empty
+```
diff --git a/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record.go b/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record.go
index 12b9f984b1..2fc7e6af77 100644
--- a/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record.go
+++ b/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record.go
@@ -98,9 +98,13 @@ func resourceCloudflareRecordCreate(ctx context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData,
 		newRecord.TTL = ttl.(int)
 	}
 
+	if newRecord.Name == "" {
+		return diag.FromErr(fmt.Errorf("record on zone %s must not have an empty name (use @ for the zone apex)", newRecord.ZoneID))
+	}
+
 	// Validate value based on type
-	if err := validateRecordName(newRecord.Type, newRecord.Content); err != nil {
-		return diag.FromErr(fmt.Errorf("error validating record name %q: %w", newRecord.Name, err))
+	if err := validateRecordContent(newRecord.Type, newRecord.Content); err != nil {
+		return diag.FromErr(fmt.Errorf("error validating record content of %q: %w", newRecord.Name, err))
 	}
 
 	var proxiedVal *bool
@@ -185,8 +189,8 @@ func resourceCloudflareRecordRead(ctx context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, m
 
 	record, err := client.DNSRecord(ctx, zoneID, d.Id())
 	if err != nil {
-		if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "Invalid dns record identifier") ||
-			strings.Contains(err.Error(), "HTTP status 404") {
+		var notFoundError *cloudflare.NotFoundError
+		if errors.As(err, &notFoundError) {
 			tflog.Warn(ctx, fmt.Sprintf("Removing record from state because it's not found in API"))
 			d.SetId("")
 			return nil
diff --git a/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record_test.go b/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record_test.go
index 2cd4b5306f..17eb2fc99e 100644
--- a/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record_test.go
+++ b/internal/provider/resource_cloudflare_record_test.go
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ func TestAccCloudflareRecord_MXWithPriorityZero(t *testing.T) {
 				Config: testAccCheckCloudflareRecordConfigMXWithPriorityZero(zoneID, rnd, zoneName),
 				Check: resource.ComposeTestCheckFunc(
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(resourceName, "priority", "0"),
-					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(resourceName, "value", "."),
+					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(resourceName, "value", "mail.terraform.cfapi.net"),
 				),
 			},
 		},
@@ -772,7 +772,7 @@ func testAccCheckCloudflareRecordConfigMXWithPriorityZero(zoneID, name, zoneName
 resource "cloudflare_record" "%[2]s" {
 	zone_id = "%[1]s"
 	name = "%[2]s"
-	value = "."
+	value = "mail.terraform.cfapi.net"
 	type = "MX"
 	priority = 0
 	proxied = false
diff --git a/internal/provider/validators.go b/internal/provider/validators.go
index 73ca3e956e..3a651e8f9c 100644
--- a/internal/provider/validators.go
+++ b/internal/provider/validators.go
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ func validateRecordType(t string, proxied bool) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("type %q cannot be proxied", t)
 }
 
-// validateRecordName ensures that based on supplied record type, the name content matches
-// Currently only validates A and AAAA types.
-func validateRecordName(t string, value string) error {
+// validateRecordContent ensures that the record's content is valid for the
+// supplied record type. Currently only validates A and AAAA types.
+func validateRecordContent(t string, value string) error {
 	switch t {
 	case "A":
 		// Must be ipv4 addr
diff --git a/internal/provider/validators_test.go b/internal/provider/validators_test.go
index 6012957e5b..7b8175907c 100644
--- a/internal/provider/validators_test.go
+++ b/internal/provider/validators_test.go
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ func TestValidateRecordName(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for k, v := range validNames {
-		if err := validateRecordName(k, v); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("%q should be a valid name for type %q: %v", v, k, err)
+		if err := validateRecordContent(k, v); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%q should be valid content for type %q: %v", v, k, err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ func TestValidateRecordName(t *testing.T) {
 		"TXT":  "\n",
 	}
 	for k, v := range invalidNames {
-		if err := validateRecordName(k, v); err == nil {
-			t.Fatalf("%q should be an invalid name for type %q", v, k)
+		if err := validateRecordContent(k, v); err == nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%q should be invalid content for type %q", v, k)
 		}
 	}
 }