diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php
index 419ba1659c..a2a579eacb 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php
@@ -468,14 +468,14 @@ function get_dropins() {
  */
 function _get_dropins() {
 	$dropins = array(
-		'advanced-cache.php'   => array( __( 'Advanced caching plugin.' ), 'WP_CACHE' ), // WP_CACHE
-		'db.php'               => array( __( 'Custom database class.' ), true ), // auto on load
-		'db-error.php'         => array( __( 'Custom database error message.' ), true ), // auto on error
-		'install.php'          => array( __( 'Custom installation script.' ), true ), // auto on installation
-		'maintenance.php'      => array( __( 'Custom maintenance message.' ), true ), // auto on maintenance
-		'object-cache.php'     => array( __( 'External object cache.' ), true ), // auto on load
-		'php-error.php'        => array( __( 'Custom PHP error message.' ), true ), // auto on error
-		'shutdown-handler.php' => array( __( 'Custom PHP shutdown handler.' ), true ), // auto on error
+		'advanced-cache.php'      => array( __( 'Advanced caching plugin.' ), 'WP_CACHE' ), // WP_CACHE
+		'db.php'                  => array( __( 'Custom database class.' ), true ), // auto on load
+		'db-error.php'            => array( __( 'Custom database error message.' ), true ), // auto on error
+		'install.php'             => array( __( 'Custom installation script.' ), true ), // auto on installation
+		'maintenance.php'         => array( __( 'Custom maintenance message.' ), true ), // auto on maintenance
+		'object-cache.php'        => array( __( 'External object cache.' ), true ), // auto on load
+		'php-error.php'           => array( __( 'Custom PHP error message.' ), true ), // auto on error
+		'fatal-error-handler.php' => array( __( 'Custom PHP fatal error handler.' ), true ), // auto on error
 	);
 
 	if ( is_multisite() ) {
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-shutdown-handler.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
similarity index 89%
rename from src/wp-includes/class-wp-shutdown-handler.php
rename to src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
index 18eee6a2a4..0299b67a48 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-shutdown-handler.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
@@ -1,21 +1,22 @@
 <?php
 /**
- * Error Protection API: WP_Shutdown_Handler class
+ * Error Protection API: WP_Fatal_Error_Handler class
  *
  * @package WordPress
  * @since 5.1.0
  */
 
 /**
- * Core class used as the default shutdown handler.
+ * Core class used as the default shutdown handler for fatal errors.
  *
- * A drop-in 'shutdown-handler.php' can be used to override the instance of this class and use a custom implementation
- * for the shutdown handler that WordPress registers. The custom class should extend this class and can override its
- * methods individually as necessary. The file must return the instance of the class that should be registered.
+ * A drop-in 'fatal-error-handler.php' can be used to override the instance of this class and use a custom
+ * implementation for the fatal error handler that WordPress registers. The custom class should extend this class and
+ * can override its methods individually as necessary. The file must return the instance of the class that should be
+ * registered.
  *
  * @since 5.1.0
  */
-class WP_Shutdown_Handler {
+class WP_Fatal_Error_Handler {
 
 	/**
 	 * Runs the shutdown handler.
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ class WP_Shutdown_Handler {
 	 * very early in the WordPress bootstrap process, so any core functions used that are not part of
 	 * `wp-includes/load.php` should be checked for before being called.
 	 *
-	 * If no such drop-in is available, this will call {@see WP_Shutdown_Handler::display_default_error_template()}.
+	 * If no such drop-in is available, this will call {@see WP_Fatal_Error_Handler::display_default_error_template()}.
 	 *
 	 * @since 5.1.0
 	 */
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/error-protection.php b/src/wp-includes/error-protection.php
index f12bd2409f..45fba0cc33 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/error-protection.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/error-protection.php
@@ -148,19 +148,48 @@ function wp_should_handle_error( $error ) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Registers the WordPress premature shutdown handler.
+ * Registers the shutdown handler for fatal errors.
+ *
+ * The handler will only be registered if {@see wp_is_fatal_error_handler_enabled()} returns true.
  *
  * @since 5.1.0
  */
-function wp_register_premature_shutdown_handler() {
+function wp_register_fatal_error_handler() {
+	if ( ! wp_is_fatal_error_handler_enabled() ) {
+		return;
+	}
+
 	$handler = null;
-	if ( defined( 'WP_CONTENT_DIR' ) && is_readable( WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/shutdown-handler.php' ) ) {
-		$handler = include WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/shutdown-handler.php';
+	if ( defined( 'WP_CONTENT_DIR' ) && is_readable( WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/fatal-error-handler.php' ) ) {
+		$handler = include WP_CONTENT_DIR . '/fatal-error-handler.php';
 	}
 
 	if ( ! is_object( $handler ) || ! is_callable( array( $handler, 'handle' ) ) ) {
-		$handler = new WP_Shutdown_Handler();
+		$handler = new WP_Fatal_Error_Handler();
 	}
 
 	register_shutdown_function( array( $handler, 'handle' ) );
 }
+
+/**
+ * Checks whether the fatal error handler is enabled.
+ *
+ * A constant `WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER` can be set in `wp-config.php` to disable it, or alternatively the
+ * {@see 'wp_fatal_error_handler_enabled'} filter can be used to modify the return value.
+ *
+ * @since 5.1.0
+ *
+ * @return bool True if the fatal error handler is enabled, false otherwise.
+ */
+function wp_is_fatal_error_handler_enabled() {
+	$enabled = ! defined( 'WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER' ) || ! WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER;
+
+	/**
+	 * Filters whether the fatal error handler is enabled.
+	 *
+	 * @since 5.1.0
+	 *
+	 * @param bool $enabled True if the fatal error handler is enabled, false otherwise.
+	 */
+	return apply_filters( 'wp_fatal_error_handler_enabled', $enabled );
+}
diff --git a/src/wp-settings.php b/src/wp-settings.php
index 781d8e6ca1..91729821d4 100644
--- a/src/wp-settings.php
+++ b/src/wp-settings.php
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@ define( 'WPINC', 'wp-includes' );
 // Include files required for initialization.
 require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/load.php' );
 require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-wp-paused-extensions-storage.php' );
-require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-wp-shutdown-handler.php' );
+require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php' );
 require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/error-protection.php' );
 require( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/default-constants.php' );
 require_once( ABSPATH . WPINC . '/plugin.php' );
 
-// Make sure we register the premature shutdown handler as soon as possible.
-wp_register_premature_shutdown_handler();
+// Make sure we register the shutdown handler for fatal errors as soon as possible.
+wp_register_fatal_error_handler();
 
 /*
  * These can't be directly globalized in version.php. When updating,