diff --git a/sql/hive/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/HiveClientImpl.scala b/sql/hive/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/HiveClientImpl.scala
index 296f9ff5dd0b..783bc5b562ff 100644
--- a/sql/hive/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/HiveClientImpl.scala
+++ b/sql/hive/src/main/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/HiveClientImpl.scala
@@ -573,8 +573,9 @@ private[hive] class HiveClientImpl(
     // If users explicitly alter these Hive-specific properties through ALTER TABLE DDL, we respect
     // these user-specified values.
     verifyColumnDataType(table.dataSchema)
+    val owner = Option(table.owner).filter(_.nonEmpty).getOrElse(userName)
     val hiveTable = toHiveTable(
-      table.copy(properties = table.ignoredProperties ++ table.properties), Some(userName))
+      table.copy(properties = table.ignoredProperties ++ table.properties), Some(owner))
     // Do not use `table.qualifiedName` here because this may be a rename
     val qualifiedTableName = s"$dbName.$tableName"
     shim.alterTable(client, qualifiedTableName, hiveTable)
diff --git a/sql/hive/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/VersionsSuite.scala b/sql/hive/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/VersionsSuite.scala
index 1c82c7e86faa..6941048cf6f3 100644
--- a/sql/hive/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/VersionsSuite.scala
+++ b/sql/hive/src/test/scala/org/apache/spark/sql/hive/client/VersionsSuite.scala
@@ -291,6 +291,19 @@ class VersionsSuite extends SparkFunSuite with Logging {
       assert(client.getTable("default", "src").properties.contains("changed"))
     }
 
+    test(s"$version: alterTable - should respect the original catalog table's owner name") {
+      val ownerName = "SPARK-29405"
+      val originalTable = client.getTable("default", "src")
+      // mocking the owner is what we declared
+      val newTable = originalTable.copy(owner = ownerName)
+      client.alterTable(newTable)
+      assert(client.getTable("default", "src").owner === ownerName)
+      // mocking the owner is empty
+      val newTable2 = originalTable.copy(owner = "")
+      client.alterTable(newTable2)
+      assert(client.getTable("default", "src").owner === client.userName)
+    }
+
     test(s"$version: alterTable(dbName: String, tableName: String, table: CatalogTable)") {
       val newTable = client.getTable("default", "src").copy(properties = Map("changedAgain" -> ""))
       client.alterTable("default", "src", newTable)