diff --git a/src/material/icon/fake-svgs.ts b/src/material/icon/fake-svgs.ts
index ec345f525673..0bd65c7ba3e6 100644
--- a/src/material/icon/fake-svgs.ts
+++ b/src/material/icon/fake-svgs.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@ export const FAKE_SVGS = {
       </defs>
     </svg>
   `,
+  farmSet5: `
+    <svg>
+      <symbol id="duck" viewBox="0 0 13 37">
+        <path id="quack" name="quack"></path>
+      </symbol>
+    </svg>
+  `,
   arrows: `
     <svg>
       <defs>
diff --git a/src/material/icon/icon-registry.ts b/src/material/icon/icon-registry.ts
index e32dcb741fed..0f2913c09b0d 100644
--- a/src/material/icon/icon-registry.ts
+++ b/src/material/icon/icon-registry.ts
@@ -525,6 +525,16 @@ export class MatIconRegistry implements OnDestroy {
    */
   private _toSvgElement(element: Element): SVGElement {
     const svg = this._svgElementFromString('<svg></svg>');
+    const attributes = element.attributes;
+
+    // Copy over all the attributes from the `symbol` to the new SVG, except the id.
+    for (let i = 0; i < attributes.length; i++) {
+      const {name, value} = attributes[i];
+
+      if (name !== 'id') {
+        svg.setAttribute(name, value);
+      }
+    }
 
     for (let i = 0; i < element.childNodes.length; i++) {
       if (element.childNodes[i].nodeType === this._document.ELEMENT_NODE) {
diff --git a/src/material/icon/icon.spec.ts b/src/material/icon/icon.spec.ts
index 9fc58199afa9..d0d2d885ca52 100644
--- a/src/material/icon/icon.spec.ts
+++ b/src/material/icon/icon.spec.ts
@@ -433,6 +433,23 @@ describe('MatIcon', () => {
       expect((firstChild as HTMLElement).getAttribute('name')).toBe('quack');
     });
 
+    it('should copy over the attributes when unwrapping <symbol> nodes', () => {
+      iconRegistry.addSvgIconSetInNamespace('farm', trustUrl('farm-set-5.svg'));
+
+      const fixture = TestBed.createComponent(IconFromSvgName);
+      const testComponent = fixture.componentInstance;
+      const matIconElement = fixture.debugElement.nativeElement.querySelector('mat-icon');
+
+      testComponent.iconName = 'farm:duck';
+      fixture.detectChanges();
+      http.expectOne('farm-set-5.svg').flush(FAKE_SVGS.farmSet5);
+
+      const svgElement = verifyAndGetSingleSvgChild(matIconElement);
+      expect(svgElement.getAttribute('viewBox')).toBe('0 0 13 37');
+      expect(svgElement.getAttribute('id')).toBeFalsy();
+      expect(svgElement.querySelector('symbol')).toBeFalsy();
+    });
+
     it('should not wrap <svg> elements in icon sets in another svg tag', () => {
       iconRegistry.addSvgIconSet(trustUrl('arrow-set.svg'));