diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index a1fe074d..ef2f9ae9 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ encoding_rs = { version = "0.8", optional = true }
 serde = { version = "1.0.100", optional = true }
 tokio = { version = "1.0", optional = true, default-features = false, features = ["io-util"] }
 memchr = "2.0"
+once_cell = "1.17.0"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 criterion = "0.4"
diff --git a/src/name.rs b/src/name.rs
index ebf2e130..21de8f9c 100644
--- a/src/name.rs
+++ b/src/name.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ use crate::events::attributes::Attribute;
 use crate::events::BytesStart;
 use crate::utils::write_byte_string;
 use memchr::memchr;
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::convert::TryFrom;
 use std::fmt::{self, Debug, Formatter};
 
@@ -399,6 +401,32 @@ pub(crate) struct NamespaceResolver {
     nesting_level: i32,
 }
 
+/// These constants define the reserved namespaces for the xml standard.
+///
+/// The prefix `xml` is by definition bound to the namespace name
+/// `http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace`. It may, but need not, be declared, and must not be
+/// undeclared or bound to any other namespace name. Other prefixes must not be bound to this
+/// namespace name, and it must not be declared as the default namespace.
+///
+/// The prefix `xmlns` is used only to declare namespace bindings and is by definition bound
+/// to the namespace name http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/. It must not be declared or
+/// undeclared. Other prefixes must not be bound to this namespace name, and it must not be
+///  declared as the default namespace. Element names must not have the prefix xmlns.
+///
+/// [reserved namespaces]: https://www.w3.org/TR/xml-names11/#xmlReserved
+static WELL_KNOWN_NAMESPACES: Lazy<HashMap<Prefix, Namespace>> = Lazy::new(|| {
+    let mut m = HashMap::new();
+    m.insert(
+        Prefix(b"xml"),
+        Namespace(b"http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"),
+    );
+    m.insert(
+        Prefix(b"xmlns"),
+        Namespace(b"http://www.w3.org/2000/xmlns/"),
+    );
+    m
+});
+
 impl NamespaceResolver {
     /// Begins a new scope and add to it all [namespace bindings] that found in
     /// the specified start element.
@@ -542,7 +570,10 @@ impl NamespaceResolver {
     #[inline]
     fn maybe_unknown(prefix: Option<Prefix>) -> ResolveResult<'static> {
         match prefix {
-            Some(p) => ResolveResult::Unknown(p.into_inner().to_vec()),
+            Some(p) => WELL_KNOWN_NAMESPACES.get(&p).map_or_else(
+                || ResolveResult::Unknown(p.into_inner().to_vec()),
+                |p| ResolveResult::Bound(*p),
+            ),
             None => ResolveResult::Unbound,
         }
     }
@@ -806,6 +837,27 @@ mod namespaces {
         assert_eq!(resolver.find(name, &buffer), Unknown(b"unknown".to_vec()));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn undeclared_reserved_prefixes() {
+        let resolver = NamespaceResolver::default();
+        let tag = b"random";
+
+        for (prefix, namespace) in WELL_KNOWN_NAMESPACES.iter() {
+            let name_buf = [prefix.into_inner(), tag].join(&b":"[..]);
+            let name = QName(&name_buf);
+
+            assert_eq!(
+                resolver.resolve(name, b"", true),
+                (Bound(*namespace), LocalName(tag))
+            );
+            assert_eq!(
+                resolver.resolve(name.clone(), b"", false),
+                (Bound(*namespace), LocalName(tag))
+            );
+            assert_eq!(resolver.find(name.clone(), b""), Bound(*namespace));
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Checks how the QName is decomposed to a prefix and a local name
     #[test]
     fn prefix_and_local_name() {