diff --git a/components/wmbus_common/__init__.py b/components/wmbus_common/__init__.py
index 929058fa..46bc2aec 100644
--- a/components/wmbus_common/__init__.py
+++ b/components/wmbus_common/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
+import re
+from collections import namedtuple
+from pathlib import Path
+
 import esphome.config_validation as cv
 from esphome.const import SOURCE_FILE_EXTENSIONS, CONF_ID
 from esphome import codegen as cg
-from pathlib import Path
 
 CODEOWNERS = ["@SzczepanLeon", "@kubasaw"]
 CONF_DRIVERS = "drivers"
@@ -11,9 +14,55 @@
 
 # Enable .cpp files to be picked up as source files (wmbusmeters library uses .cpp)
 
-AVAILABLE_DRIVERS = {
-    f.stem.removeprefix("driver_") for f in Path(__file__).parent.glob("driver_*.cpp")
-}
+# createMeter() looks a configured type up by the name the driver passes to
+# di.setName()/di.addNameAlias(), which is not necessarily the file name -
+# driver_kamheat.cpp also answers to "multical603", for instance. Read those
+# names out of the sources so that a type no driver registers is rejected while
+# validating the configuration, instead of leaving the meter with no
+# implementation until it is reported at boot.
+_DRIVER_NAME_RE = re.compile(r'\.(setName|addNameAlias)\s*\(\s*"([^"]+)"\s*\)')
+
+Driver = namedtuple("Driver", "name source")
+
+
+def _registered_names(source):
+    """Names driver_<x>.cpp registers itself under, as (name, aliases)."""
+    names = {"setName": set(), "addNameAlias": set()}
+    for call, name in _DRIVER_NAME_RE.findall(source.read_text(encoding="utf-8")):
+        names[call].add(name)
+
+    # Not a user error - the driver cannot be selected at all if we get here.
+    if len(names["setName"]) != 1:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"{source.name} must call di.setName() with exactly one name, "
+            f"found {sorted(names['setName']) or 'none'}"
+        )
+
+    return names["setName"].pop(), names["addNameAlias"]
+
+
+def _collect_drivers():
+    """Every name accepted in the config, mapped to the driver providing it."""
+    drivers = {}
+    for source in sorted(Path(__file__).parent.glob("driver_*.cpp")):
+        name, aliases = _registered_names(source)
+        driver = Driver(name, source)
+        for alias in (name, *aliases):
+            if alias in drivers:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"{source.name} and {drivers[alias].source.name} both "
+                    f'register the driver name "{alias}"'
+                )
+            drivers[alias] = driver
+    return drivers
+
+
+DRIVERS = _collect_drivers()
+
+# Names usable as a meter type, aliases included.
+AVAILABLE_DRIVERS = set(DRIVERS)
+# Canonical names only, so that "drivers: all" does not list a driver twice.
+DRIVER_NAMES = {driver.name for driver in DRIVERS.values()}
 
 _registered_drivers = set()
 
@@ -28,37 +77,46 @@
     {
         cv.GenerateID(): cv.declare_id(WMBusCommon),
         cv.Optional(CONF_DRIVERS, default=set()): cv.All(
-            lambda x: AVAILABLE_DRIVERS if x == "all" else set(x) if isinstance(x, list) else x,
+            lambda x: DRIVER_NAMES if x == "all" else set(x) if isinstance(x, list) else x,
             {validate_driver},
         ),
     }
 )
 
 
+def _selected_drivers():
+    """Drivers the configuration selected, deduplicated across aliases."""
+    return {DRIVERS[name] for name in _registered_drivers}
+
+
 def FILTER_SOURCE_FILES():
     """Return set of driver source files to exclude from compilation."""
-    return {f"driver_{name}.cpp" for name in AVAILABLE_DRIVERS - _registered_drivers}
+    kept = {driver.source.name for driver in _selected_drivers()}
+    return {driver.source.name for driver in DRIVERS.values()} - kept
 
 
 def _keep_symbol(driver):
     """Symbol defined by KEEP_DRIVER() in driver_<name>.cpp."""
-    return f"wmbus_driver_{driver.replace('-', '_')}_linked"
+    stem = driver.source.stem.removeprefix("driver_").replace("-", "_")
+    return f"wmbus_driver_{stem}_linked"
 
 
 async def to_code(config):
-    var = cg.new_Pvariable(config[CONF_ID], sorted(_registered_drivers))
+    drivers = sorted(_selected_drivers())
+    var = cg.new_Pvariable(config[CONF_ID], [driver.name for driver in drivers])
     await cg.register_component(var, config)
 
-    # Reference each selected driver's KEEP_DRIVER symbol from main.cpp so the
-    # linker keeps its object file; see KEEP_DRIVER in meters.h.
-    drivers = sorted(_registered_drivers)
     if not drivers:
         return
 
-    for driver in drivers:
-        cg.add_global(cg.RawStatement(f"extern bool {_keep_symbol(driver)};"))
+    # Reference each selected driver's KEEP_DRIVER symbol from main.cpp so the
+    # linker keeps its object file; see KEEP_DRIVER in meters.h.
+    symbols = [_keep_symbol(driver) for driver in drivers]
+
+    for symbol in symbols:
+        cg.add_global(cg.RawStatement(f"extern bool {symbol};"))
 
-    refs = ", ".join(f"&{_keep_symbol(driver)}" for driver in drivers)
+    refs = ", ".join(f"&{symbol}" for symbol in symbols)
     cg.add_global(
         cg.RawStatement(
             f"static bool *const wmbus_kept_drivers[] __attribute__((used)) = {{{refs}}};"
diff --git a/components/wmbus_meter/wmbus_meter.cpp b/components/wmbus_meter/wmbus_meter.cpp
index a0fc2d41..9f9cade6 100644
--- a/components/wmbus_meter/wmbus_meter.cpp
+++ b/components/wmbus_meter/wmbus_meter.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ void Meter::set_meter_params(std::string id, std::string driver,
 }
 
 void Meter::setup() {
+  // An unknown driver should be rejected while validating the configuration, so we just make sure here
   if (this->meter == nullptr) {
     ESP_LOGE(TAG, "Meter 0x%s was not created - no driver '%s'",
              this->meter_id_.c_str(), this->driver_name_.c_str());