diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/attribute_legacy_convert.cc b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/attribute_legacy_convert.cc
index 31fc9fdcb2c..2fc65a52acf 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/attribute_legacy_convert.cc
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/attribute_legacy_convert.cc
@@ -245,6 +245,22 @@ void mesh_convert_storage_to_customdata(Mesh &mesh)
                                  {AttrDomain::Edge, {mesh.edge_data, mesh.edges_num}},
                                  {AttrDomain::Face, {mesh.face_data, mesh.faces_num}},
                                  {AttrDomain::Corner, {mesh.corner_data, mesh.corners_num}}});
+  if (const char *name = mesh.active_uv_map_attribute) {
+    const int layer_n = CustomData_get_named_layer(&mesh.corner_data, CD_PROP_FLOAT2, name);
+    if (layer_n != -1) {
+      CustomData_set_layer_active(&mesh.corner_data, CD_PROP_FLOAT2, layer_n);
+    }
+    MEM_freeN(mesh.active_uv_map_attribute);
+    mesh.active_uv_map_attribute = nullptr;
+  }
+  if (const char *name = mesh.default_uv_map_attribute) {
+    const int layer_n = CustomData_get_named_layer(&mesh.corner_data, CD_PROP_FLOAT2, name);
+    if (layer_n != -1) {
+      CustomData_set_layer_render(&mesh.corner_data, CD_PROP_FLOAT2, layer_n);
+    }
+    MEM_freeN(mesh.default_uv_map_attribute);
+    mesh.default_uv_map_attribute = nullptr;
+  }
 }
 void mesh_convert_customdata_to_storage(Mesh &mesh)
 {
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
index 113305a3b18..8f23e88fe95 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/mesh.cc
@@ -200,6 +200,10 @@ static void mesh_copy_data(Main *bmain,
       MEM_dupallocN(mesh_src->active_color_attribute));
   mesh_dst->default_color_attribute = static_cast<char *>(
       MEM_dupallocN(mesh_src->default_color_attribute));
+  mesh_dst->active_uv_map_attribute = static_cast<char *>(
+      MEM_dupallocN(mesh_src->active_uv_map_attribute));
+  mesh_dst->default_uv_map_attribute = static_cast<char *>(
+      MEM_dupallocN(mesh_src->default_uv_map_attribute));
 
   CustomData_init_from(
       &mesh_src->vert_data, &mesh_dst->vert_data, mask.vmask, mesh_dst->verts_num);
@@ -247,6 +251,8 @@ static void mesh_free_data(ID *id)
   BLI_freelistN(&mesh->vertex_group_names);
   MEM_SAFE_FREE(mesh->active_color_attribute);
   MEM_SAFE_FREE(mesh->default_color_attribute);
+  MEM_SAFE_FREE(mesh->active_uv_map_attribute);
+  MEM_SAFE_FREE(mesh->default_uv_map_attribute);
   mesh->attribute_storage.wrap().~AttributeStorage();
   if (mesh->face_offset_indices) {
     blender::implicit_sharing::free_shared_data(&mesh->face_offset_indices,
@@ -409,6 +415,8 @@ static void mesh_blend_read_data(BlendDataReader *reader, ID *id)
   }
   BLO_read_string(reader, &mesh->active_color_attribute);
   BLO_read_string(reader, &mesh->default_color_attribute);
+  BLO_read_string(reader, &mesh->active_uv_map_attribute);
+  BLO_read_string(reader, &mesh->default_uv_map_attribute);
 
   /* Forward compatibility. To be removed when runtime format changes. */
   blender::bke::mesh_convert_storage_to_customdata(*mesh);
diff --git a/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_mesh_types.h b/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_mesh_types.h
index 871fa0ce8e6..ba0c52ed3ca 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_mesh_types.h
+++ b/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_mesh_types.h
@@ -178,6 +178,17 @@ typedef struct Mesh {
   /** The color attribute used by default (i.e. for rendering) if no name is given explicitly. */
   char *default_color_attribute;
 
+  /**
+   * The UV map currently selected in the list and edited by a user.
+   * Currently only used for file forward compatibility (see #AttributeStorage).
+   */
+  char *active_uv_map_attribute;
+  /**
+   * The UV map used by default (i.e. for rendering) if no name is given explicitly.
+   * Currently only used for file forward compatibility (see #AttributeStorage).
+   */
+  char *default_uv_map_attribute;
+
   /**
    * User-defined symmetry flag (#eMeshSymmetryType) that causes editing operations to maintain
    * symmetrical geometry. Supported by operations such as transform and weight-painting.