diff --git a/lisp/international/mule-cmds.el b/lisp/international/mule-cmds.el
index 5dc3de4422..0593d72279 100644
--- a/lisp/international/mule-cmds.el
+++ b/lisp/international/mule-cmds.el
@@ -3083,6 +3083,12 @@ mule--ucs-names-affixation
               (list name (concat (if char (format "%c" char) " ") "\t") "")))
           names))
 
+(defun mule--ucs-names-sort-by-char (names)
+  (let* ((chars-and-names
+          (mapcar (lambda (name) (cons (gethash name ucs-names) name)) names))
+         (sorted (sort chars-and-names (lambda (a b) (< (car a) (car b))))))
+    (mapcar #'cdr sorted)))
+
 (defun char-from-name (string &optional ignore-case)
   "Return a character as a number from its Unicode name STRING.
 If optional IGNORE-CASE is non-nil, ignore case in STRING.
@@ -3132,6 +3138,7 @@ read-char-by-name
 	     (if (eq action 'metadata)
 		 '(metadata
 		   (affixation-function . mule--ucs-names-affixation)
+		   (display-sort-function . mule--ucs-names-sort-by-char)
 		   (category . unicode-name))
 	       (complete-with-action action (ucs-names) string pred)))))
 	 (char