Perhaps surprisingly, using -Name decorates the strings being output with NoteProperty members from the underlying PS provider, such as .PSPath, just as with the default output types (e.g., System.IO.FileInfo / System.IO.DirectoryInfo for the filesystem provider).

However, this currently happens inconsistently, namely only if -Recurse isn't also specified.

As an aside: providing a way to opt out of this decoration (-Raw) may be helpful for performance reasons; see also: #9119

Steps to reproduce

Run the following Pester test:

Describe "Get-ChildItem -Name provider-properties test" {
  It "-Name adds provider properties" {
    Get-ChildItem / -Name | Select-Object -First 1 | Get-Member -Name PSPath | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
  }
  It "-Name -Recurse adds provider properties too" {
    Get-ChildItem / -Name -Recurse | Select-Object -First 1 | Get-Member -Name PSPath | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
  }
}

Expected behavior

Both tests should pass.

Actual behavior

Executing script ....Tests.ps1

  Describing Get-ChildItem -Name provider-properties test
    [+] -Name adds provider properties 612ms
    [-] -Name -Recurse adds provider properties too 156ms
      Expected a value, but got $null or empty.
      6:     Get-ChildItem / -Name -Recurse | Select-Object -First 1 | Get-Member -Name PSPath | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
      at <ScriptBlock>, ....Tests.ps1: line 6

Environment data

PowerShell Core 6.2.0-preview.4
Windows PowerShell v5.1.17134.407