diff --git a/docs/source/topics/data_types.rst b/docs/source/topics/data_types.rst
index a2309d4e66..dd762b88c4 100644
--- a/docs/source/topics/data_types.rst
+++ b/docs/source/topics/data_types.rst
@@ -284,6 +284,27 @@ The user also has to specify the units for both ``x`` and ``y``:
 
   In [4]: xy.set_y(np.array([1, 2, 3, 4]), 'Volume Expansion', '%')
 
+  To retrieve the ``x`` values and their metadata, you can use the :py:meth:`~aiida.orm.XyData.get_x` method:
+
+.. code-block:: ipython
+
+  In [5]: x_name, x_array, x_units = xy.get_x()
+
+Similarly, to retrieve the ``y`` values and their metadata, use the :py:meth:`~aiida.orm.XyData.get_y` method:
+
+.. code-block:: ipython
+
+  In [6]: y_values = xy.get_y()
+  In [7]: for y_name, y_array, y_units in y_values:
+     ...:     print(y_name, y_array, y_units)
+
+You can also retrieve the names of all ``y`` arrays using :py:meth:`~aiida.orm.XyData.get_y_arraynames`:
+
+.. code-block:: ipython
+
+  In [8]: y_names = xy.get_y_arraynames()
+  In [9]: print(y_names)
+
 Note that you can set multiple ``y`` values that correspond to the ``x`` grid.
 Same as for the :py:class:`~aiida.orm.ArrayData`, the names and shapes of the arrays are stored to the database, the content of the arrays is stored to the repository in the `numpy format <https://numpy.org/doc/stable/reference/generated/numpy.lib.format.html#npy-format>`_ (``.npy``).
 
diff --git a/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/array/xy.py b/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/array/xy.py
index aa994bbd30..910398a511 100644
--- a/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/array/xy.py
+++ b/src/aiida/orm/nodes/data/array/xy.py
@@ -9,6 +9,13 @@
 """This module defines the classes related to Xy data. That is data that contains
 collections of y-arrays bound to a single x-array, and the methods to operate
 on them.
+
+Example:
+    xy = XyData()
+    xy.set_x(np.array([1, 2, 3]), 'x', 'unit_x')
+    xy.set_y([np.array([1, 2, 3]), np.array([4, 5, 6])], ['y', 'z'], ['unit_y', 'unit_z'])
+    print(xy.get_arraynames())  # ['x_array', 'y_array_0', 'y_array_1']
+    print(xy.get_y())           # [('y', array([1, 2, 3]), 'unit_y'), ('z', array([4, 5, 6]), 'unit_z')]
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -172,10 +179,15 @@ def get_y(self) -> list[tuple[str, 'ndarray', str]]:
             y_units = self.base.attributes.get('y_units')
         except (KeyError, AttributeError):
             raise NotExistent('No y units has been set yet!')
-        y_arrays = []
+
+        y_arrays = [self.get_array(f'y_array_{i}') for i in range(len(y_names))]
+        return list(zip(y_names, y_arrays, y_units))
+
+    def get_y_arraynames(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Returns the user-provided names of the y-arrays."""
+
         try:
-            for i in range(len(y_names)):
-                y_arrays += [self.get_array(f'y_array_{i}')]
+            y_names = self.base.attributes.get('y_names')
         except (KeyError, AttributeError):
-            raise NotExistent(f'Could not retrieve array associated with y array {y_names[i]}')
-        return list(zip(y_names, y_arrays, y_units))
+            raise NotExistent('No y names have been set yet!')
+        return y_names
diff --git a/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_xy.py b/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_xy.py
index 3842157b78..dd28e4fd1f 100644
--- a/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_xy.py
+++ b/tests/orm/nodes/data/test_xy.py
@@ -51,3 +51,21 @@ def test_constructor():
     node = XyData(x_array, y_array, x_name='x_name', x_units='x_unit', y_names='y_name', y_units='y_units')
     assert numpy.array_equal(node.get_x()[1], x_array)
     assert numpy.array_equal(node.get_y()[0][1], y_array)
+
+
+def test_get_y_arraynames():
+    """Test retrieving y array names."""
+    x_array = numpy.array([1, 2])
+    y_array1 = numpy.array([3, 4])
+    y_array2 = numpy.array([5, 6])
+
+    node = XyData()
+    node.set_x(x_array, 'x_name', 'x_unit')
+    node.set_y([y_array1, y_array2], ['y_name1', 'y_name2'], ['y_unit1', 'y_unit2'])
+
+    y_names = node.get_y_arraynames()
+    assert y_names == ['y_name1', 'y_name2']
+
+    empty_node = XyData()
+    with pytest.raises(NotExistent):
+        empty_node.get_y_arraynames()