diff --git a/gems/smithy-xml/lib/smithy-xml/builder.rb b/gems/smithy-xml/lib/smithy-xml/builder.rb
index 62f143f71..a6523dcd0 100644
--- a/gems/smithy-xml/lib/smithy-xml/builder.rb
+++ b/gems/smithy-xml/lib/smithy-xml/builder.rb
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ def initialize(options = {})
       def build(shape, data, output = nil)
         output ||= []
         @builder = DocBuilder.new(output: output, indent: @indent, pad: @pad)
-        structure(shape.target.traits['smithy.api#xmlName'] || shape.target.name, shape, data)
+        xml_name = shape.traits['smithy.api#xmlName'] || shape.target.traits['smithy.api#xmlName'] || shape.target.name
+        structure(xml_name, shape, data)
         output.join
       end