I asked this a few years ago and the only answer I got was that it was thought that it was not possible. We now have again the requirement of an IDP to include the ProviderName in the request.

Does anyone know if this has changed and it is possible to include the ProviderName in the authentication request?

Something like:

<samlp:AuthnRequest
ID="_1e736a31-a41c-4c35-b17f-0f9ab4c741b3"
Version="2.0"
IssueInstant="2011-02-17T11:15:24Z"
Destination="DestinationURLOFIDP"
ProtocolBinding="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST"
AssertionConsumerServiceURL="ACS-URL"
ProviderName="Service Provider Name"
xmlns:samlp="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:protocol">
<saml:Issuer xmlns:saml="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:assertion">ISSUER</saml:Issuer>