diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 1fa64815..65564b3e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -39,6 +39,9 @@ SET_HDF_BUILD_TYPE()
 
 set (H5PL_EXPORTED_TARGETS "")
 
+if (NOT DEFINED PL_PACKAGE_NAME)
+  set (PL_PACKAGE_NAME "pl")
+endif ()
 BASIC_SETTINGS (${PL_PACKAGE_NAME})
 
 if (NOT H5PL_VERS_MAJOR)