diff --git a/pkg/cli/debug_send_kv_batch.go b/pkg/cli/debug_send_kv_batch.go
index 81d8befead08..4d6f118b0f28 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/debug_send_kv_batch.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/debug_send_kv_batch.go
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ func sendKVBatchRequestWithTracingOption(
 
 	if sp != nil {
 		// Import the remotely collected spans, if any.
-		sp.ImportRemoteSpans(br.CollectedSpans)
+		sp.ImportRemoteRecording(br.CollectedSpans)
 
 		// Extract the recording.
 		rec = sp.GetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose)
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
index dd9d8c526318..7bc422d64320 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvclient/kvcoord/transport.go
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func (gt *grpcTransport) sendBatch(
 				return nil, errors.Errorf(
 					"trying to ingest remote spans but there is no recording span set up")
 			}
-			span.ImportRemoteSpans(reply.CollectedSpans)
+			span.ImportRemoteRecording(reply.CollectedSpans)
 		}
 	}
 	return reply, err
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ func (s *senderTransport) SendNext(
 		if span == nil {
 			panic("trying to ingest remote spans but there is no recording span set up")
 		}
-		span.ImportRemoteSpans(br.CollectedSpans)
+		span.ImportRemoteRecording(br.CollectedSpans)
 	}
 
 	return br, nil
diff --git a/pkg/kv/kvserver/store_snapshot.go b/pkg/kv/kvserver/store_snapshot.go
index c383e9a98e23..ce855ee11643 100644
--- a/pkg/kv/kvserver/store_snapshot.go
+++ b/pkg/kv/kvserver/store_snapshot.go
@@ -1343,7 +1343,7 @@ func delegateSnapshot(
 				"trying to ingest remote spans but there is no recording span set up",
 			)
 		} else {
-			span.ImportRemoteSpans(resp.CollectedSpans)
+			span.ImportRemoteRecording(resp.CollectedSpans)
 		}
 	}
 	switch resp.SnapResponse.Status {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/crdb_internal_test.go b/pkg/sql/crdb_internal_test.go
index 536b2c9cabdc..4df6ba473d93 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/crdb_internal_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/crdb_internal_test.go
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ func setupTraces(t1, t2 *tracing.Tracer) (tracingpb.TraceID, func()) {
 
 	// Start another remote child span on "node 2" that we finish.
 	childRemoteChildFinished := t2.StartSpan("root.child.remotechilddone", tracing.WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(child.Meta()))
-	child.ImportRemoteSpans(childRemoteChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose))
+	child.ImportRemoteRecording(childRemoteChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose))
 
 	// Start another remote child span on "node 2" that we finish. This will have
 	// a different trace_id from the spans created above.
diff --git a/pkg/sql/distsql_running.go b/pkg/sql/distsql_running.go
index c061f294f0e3..eb6360edd756 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/distsql_running.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/distsql_running.go
@@ -981,7 +981,7 @@ func (r *DistSQLReceiver) pushMeta(meta *execinfrapb.ProducerMetadata) execinfra
 	}
 	if len(meta.TraceData) > 0 {
 		if span := tracing.SpanFromContext(r.ctx); span != nil {
-			span.ImportRemoteSpans(meta.TraceData)
+			span.ImportRemoteRecording(meta.TraceData)
 		}
 		var ev roachpb.ContentionEvent
 		for i := range meta.TraceData {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/rowexec/tablereader_test.go b/pkg/sql/rowexec/tablereader_test.go
index fc66ae1dda14..8ec1a2eba68e 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/rowexec/tablereader_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/rowexec/tablereader_test.go
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ func TestLimitScans(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Simulate what the DistSQLReceiver does and ingest the trace.
 		if meta != nil && len(meta.TraceData) > 0 {
-			sp.ImportRemoteSpans(meta.TraceData)
+			sp.ImportRemoteRecording(meta.TraceData)
 		}
 
 		if row == nil && meta == nil {
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/collector/collector_test.go b/pkg/util/tracing/collector/collector_test.go
index cf4217d76a2e..8bf916fad4b0 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/collector/collector_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/collector/collector_test.go
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func setupTraces(t1, t2 *tracing.Tracer) (tracingpb.TraceID, tracingpb.TraceID,
 
 	// Start another remote child span on "node 2" that we finish.
 	childRemoteChildFinished := t2.StartSpan("root.child.remotechilddone", tracing.WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(child.Meta()))
-	child.ImportRemoteSpans(childRemoteChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose))
+	child.ImportRemoteRecording(childRemoteChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose))
 
 	// Start a root span on "node 2".
 	root2 := t2.StartSpan("root2", tracing.WithRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose))
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go b/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
index 39fa9ee616f2..e8f97768ee89 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/crdbspan.go
@@ -457,22 +457,23 @@ func (s *crdbSpan) getStructuredRecording(includeDetachedChildren bool) Recordin
 	return Recording{res}
 }
 
-// recordFinishedChildren adds children to s' recording.
+// recordFinishedChildren adds the spans in childRecording to s' recording.
 //
-// s takes ownership of children; the caller is not allowed to use them anymore.
-func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildren(children []tracingpb.RecordedSpan) {
-	if len(children) == 0 {
+// s takes ownership of childRecording; the caller is not allowed to use them anymore.
+func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildren(childRecording Recording) {
+	if len(childRecording) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
 	s.mu.Lock()
 	defer s.mu.Unlock()
-	s.recordFinishedChildrenLocked(children)
+	s.recordFinishedChildrenLocked(childRecording)
 }
 
-// s takes ownership of children; the caller is not allowed to use them anymore.
-func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildrenLocked(children []tracingpb.RecordedSpan) {
-	if len(children) == 0 {
+// s takes ownership of childRecording; the caller is not allowed to use them
+// anymore.
+func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildrenLocked(childRecording Recording) {
+	if len(childRecording) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -480,13 +481,14 @@ func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildrenLocked(children []tracingpb.RecordedSpa
 	// received, or only the structured events.
 	switch s.recordingType() {
 	case RecordingVerbose:
-		// Change the root of the remote recording to be a child of this Span. This is
+		// Change the root of the recording to be a child of this Span. This is
 		// usually already the case, except with DistSQL traces where remote
-		// processors run in spans that FollowFrom an RPC Span that we don't collect.
-		children[0].ParentSpanID = s.spanID
+		// processors run in spans that FollowFrom an RPC Span that we don't
+		// collect.
+		childRecording[0].ParentSpanID = s.spanID
 
-		if len(s.mu.recording.finishedChildren)+len(children) <= maxRecordedSpansPerTrace {
-			s.mu.recording.finishedChildren = append(s.mu.recording.finishedChildren, children...)
+		if len(s.mu.recording.finishedChildren)+len(childRecording) <= maxRecordedSpansPerTrace {
+			s.mu.recording.finishedChildren = append(s.mu.recording.finishedChildren, childRecording...)
 			break
 		}
 
@@ -494,8 +496,8 @@ func (s *crdbSpan) recordFinishedChildrenLocked(children []tracingpb.RecordedSpa
 		// records by falling through.
 		fallthrough
 	case RecordingStructured:
-		for ci := range children {
-			child := &children[ci]
+		for ci := range childRecording {
+			child := &childRecording[ci]
 			for i := range child.StructuredRecords {
 				s.recordInternalLocked(&child.StructuredRecords[i], &s.mu.recording.structured)
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/grpc_interceptor_test.go b/pkg/util/tracing/grpc_interceptor_test.go
index 496175334b92..b2b3b472db7e 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/grpc_interceptor_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/grpc_interceptor_test.go
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ func TestGRPCInterceptors(t *testing.T) {
 			var rec tracingpb.RecordedSpan
 			require.NoError(t, types.UnmarshalAny(recAny, &rec))
 			require.Len(t, rec.StructuredRecords, 1)
-			sp.ImportRemoteSpans([]tracingpb.RecordedSpan{rec})
+			sp.ImportRemoteRecording([]tracingpb.RecordedSpan{rec})
 			var n int
 			finalRecs := sp.FinishAndGetRecording(tracing.RecordingVerbose)
 			for _, rec := range finalRecs {
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/span.go b/pkg/util/tracing/span.go
index f4924242b994..dbd7f3a19345 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/span.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/span.go
@@ -352,12 +352,14 @@ func (sp *Span) GetConfiguredRecording() Recording {
 	return sp.i.GetRecording(recType, false /* finishing */)
 }
 
-// ImportRemoteSpans adds RecordedSpan data to the recording of the given Span;
-// these spans will be part of the result of GetRecording. Used to import
-// recorded traces from other nodes.
-func (sp *Span) ImportRemoteSpans(remoteSpans []tracingpb.RecordedSpan) {
+// ImportRemoteRecording adds the spans in remoteRecording as children of the
+// receiver. As a result of this, the imported recording will be a part of the
+// GetRecording() output for the receiver.
+//
+// This function is used to import a recording from another node.
+func (sp *Span) ImportRemoteRecording(remoteRecording Recording) {
 	if !sp.detectUseAfterFinish() {
-		sp.i.ImportRemoteSpans(remoteSpans)
+		sp.i.ImportRemoteRecording(remoteRecording)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/span_inner.go b/pkg/util/tracing/span_inner.go
index 3e5b3c1bc7f8..d1f66b656ac2 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/span_inner.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/span_inner.go
@@ -87,8 +87,8 @@ func (s *spanInner) GetRecording(recType RecordingType, finishing bool) Recordin
 	return s.crdb.GetRecording(recType, finishing)
 }
 
-func (s *spanInner) ImportRemoteSpans(remoteSpans []tracingpb.RecordedSpan) {
-	s.crdb.recordFinishedChildren(remoteSpans)
+func (s *spanInner) ImportRemoteRecording(remoteRecording []tracingpb.RecordedSpan) {
+	s.crdb.recordFinishedChildren(remoteRecording)
 }
 
 func (s *spanInner) Finish() {
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/span_options.go b/pkg/util/tracing/span_options.go
index 6c58a467c04e..23d069bce29a 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/span_options.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/span_options.go
@@ -231,18 +231,17 @@ type remoteParent SpanMeta
 // For the purposes of trace recordings, there's no mechanism ensuring that the
 // child's recording will be passed to the parent span. When that's desired, it
 // has to be done manually by calling Span.GetRecording() and propagating the
-// result to the parent by calling Span.ImportRemoteSpans().
+// result to the parent by calling Span.ImportRemoteRecording().
 //
 // The canonical use case for this is around RPC boundaries, where a server
 // handling a request wants to create a child span descending from a parent on a
 // remote machine.
 //
-// node 1                     (network)          node 2
+// node 1                         (network)          node 2
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Span.Meta()               ----------> sp2 := Tracer.StartSpan(
-//                                       		WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(.))
-//                                       doSomething(sp2)
-// Span.ImportRemoteSpans(.) <---------- sp2.FinishAndGetRecording()
+// Span.Meta()                   ----------> sp2 := Tracer.StartSpan(WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(.))
+//                                           doSomething(sp2)
+// Span.ImportRemoteRecording(.) <---------- sp2.FinishAndGetRecording()
 //
 // By default, the child span is derived using a ChildOf relationship, which
 // corresponds to the expectation that the parent span will usually wait for the
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/span_test.go b/pkg/util/tracing/span_test.go
index f9c18c737385..aa85234ae7a0 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/span_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/span_test.go
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func TestRecordingString(t *testing.T) {
 	remoteChild.Record("remote child 1")
 
 	remoteRec := remoteChild.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose)
-	root.ImportRemoteSpans(remoteRec)
+	root.ImportRemoteRecording(remoteRec)
 
 	root.Record("root 3")
 
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ func TestRecordingInRecording(t *testing.T) {
 	// have to be imported into the parent manually (this would usually happen via
 	// code at the RPC boundaries).
 	grandChild := tr.StartSpan("grandchild", WithParent(child), WithDetachedRecording())
-	child.ImportRemoteSpans(grandChild.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
+	child.ImportRemoteRecording(grandChild.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
 	childRec := child.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose)
 	require.NoError(t, CheckRecordedSpans(childRec, `
 		span: child
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ func TestRecordingInRecording(t *testing.T) {
 
 // Verify that GetRecording propagates the structured events even when the
 // receiving Span isn't verbose during import.
-func TestImportRemoteSpans(t *testing.T) {
+func TestImportRemoteRecording(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, verbose := range []bool{false, true} {
 		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("%s=%t", "verbose-child=", verbose), func(t *testing.T) {
 			tr := NewTracerWithOpt(context.Background())
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ func TestImportRemoteSpans(t *testing.T) {
 			ch := tr.StartSpan("child", WithParent(sp), WithDetachedRecording())
 			ch.RecordStructured(&types.Int32Value{Value: 4})
 			ch.Record("foo")
-			sp.ImportRemoteSpans(ch.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
+			sp.ImportRemoteRecording(ch.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
 
 			if verbose {
 				require.NoError(t, CheckRecording(sp.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose), `
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ func TestImportRemoteSpans(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestImportRemoteSpansMaintainsRightByteSize(t *testing.T) {
+func TestImportRemoteRecordingMaintainsRightByteSize(t *testing.T) {
 	tr1 := NewTracer()
 
 	child := tr1.StartSpan("child", WithRecording(RecordingStructured))
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ func TestImportRemoteSpansMaintainsRightByteSize(t *testing.T) {
 	child.RecordStructured(&types.StringValue{Value: "test"})
 
 	root := tr1.StartSpan("root", WithRecording(RecordingStructured))
-	root.ImportRemoteSpans(child.GetRecording(RecordingStructured))
+	root.ImportRemoteRecording(child.GetRecording(RecordingStructured))
 	c := root.i.crdb
 	c.mu.Lock()
 	buf := c.mu.recording.structured
diff --git a/pkg/util/tracing/tracer_test.go b/pkg/util/tracing/tracer_test.go
index 70cc64023f1e..e1e9c04fb6a7 100644
--- a/pkg/util/tracing/tracer_test.go
+++ b/pkg/util/tracing/tracer_test.go
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ func TestTracerInjectExtract(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	s1.ImportRemoteSpans(rec)
+	s1.ImportRemoteRecording(rec)
 	if err := CheckRecordedSpans(s1.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose), `
 		span: a
 			tags: _verbose=1
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ func TestTracer_VisitSpans(t *testing.T) {
 	childChild := tr2.StartSpan("root.child.remotechild", WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(child.Meta()))
 	childChildFinished := tr2.StartSpan("root.child.remotechilddone", WithRemoteParentFromSpanMeta(child.Meta()))
 	require.Len(t, tr2.activeSpansRegistry.mu.m, 2)
-	child.ImportRemoteSpans(childChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
+	child.ImportRemoteRecording(childChildFinished.FinishAndGetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
 	require.Len(t, tr2.activeSpansRegistry.mu.m, 1)
 
 	// All spans are part of the recording (root.child.remotechilddone was
@@ -524,7 +524,7 @@ func TestSpanRecordingFinished(t *testing.T) {
 	tr2 := NewTracer()
 	childTraceInfo := child.Meta().ToProto()
 	remoteChildChild := tr2.StartSpan("root.child.remotechild", WithRemoteParentFromTraceInfo(&childTraceInfo))
-	child.ImportRemoteSpans(remoteChildChild.GetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
+	child.ImportRemoteRecording(remoteChildChild.GetRecording(RecordingVerbose))
 	remoteChildChild.Finish()
 
 	// All spans are un-finished.