diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES.md b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
index 1bbbd075f..227441cb4 100644
--- a/RELEASE_NOTES.md
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
         + The class is now immutable.
         + The constructor now accepts only keyword arguments.
 
+- The Actor class now generates a name with the class name and the instance id.
+
 ## New Features
 
 - `LoggingConfigUpdatingActor`
diff --git a/src/frequenz/sdk/actor/_background_service.py b/src/frequenz/sdk/actor/_background_service.py
index 2d44d2afe..9ca8e0184 100644
--- a/src/frequenz/sdk/actor/_background_service.py
+++ b/src/frequenz/sdk/actor/_background_service.py
@@ -73,10 +73,12 @@ def __init__(self, *, name: str | None = None) -> None:
         """Initialize this BackgroundService.
 
         Args:
-            name: The name of this background service. If `None`, `str(id(self))` will
-                be used. This is used mostly for debugging purposes.
+            name: The name of this background service. If `None`, id with the
+                class name will be generated. This is used mostly for debugging purposes.
         """
-        self._name: str = str(id(self)) if name is None else name
+        self._name: str = (
+            f"{self.__class__.__name__}_{id(self)}" if name is None else name
+        )
         self._tasks: set[asyncio.Task[Any]] = set()
 
     @abc.abstractmethod
diff --git a/tests/actor/test_background_service.py b/tests/actor/test_background_service.py
index 5a8cc8e90..d1d941bf3 100644
--- a/tests/actor/test_background_service.py
+++ b/tests/actor/test_background_service.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ async def nop() -> None:
 async def test_construction_defaults() -> None:
     """Test the construction of a background service with default arguments."""
     fake_service = FakeService()
-    assert fake_service.name == str(id(fake_service))
+    assert fake_service.name.startswith("FakeService_")
     assert fake_service.tasks == set()
     assert fake_service.is_running is False
     assert str(fake_service) == f"FakeService[{fake_service.name}]"