diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupAdmin.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupAdmin.java
index 25055fd5e8e6..a44c8843c993 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupAdmin.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupAdmin.java
@@ -76,14 +76,6 @@ public interface BackupAdmin extends Closeable {
    */
   void mergeBackups(String[] backupIds) throws IOException;
 
-  /**
-   * Show backup history command
-   * @param n last n backup sessions
-   * @return list of backup info objects
-   * @throws IOException exception
-   */
-  List<BackupInfo> getHistory(int n) throws IOException;
-
   /**
    * Show backup history command with filters
    * @param n last n backup sessions
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupInfo.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupInfo.java
index f0dc10b83619..39f903185a68 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupInfo.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/BackupInfo.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.function.Predicate;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.TableName;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.util.BackupUtils;
@@ -46,13 +47,22 @@ public class BackupInfo implements Comparable<BackupInfo> {
   private static final Logger LOG = LoggerFactory.getLogger(BackupInfo.class);
   private static final int MAX_FAILED_MESSAGE_LENGTH = 1024;
 
-  public interface Filter {
-    /**
-     * Filter interface
-     * @param info backup info
-     * @return true if info passes filter, false otherwise
-     */
-    boolean apply(BackupInfo info);
+  public interface Filter extends Predicate<BackupInfo> {
+    /** Returns true if the BackupInfo passes the filter, false otherwise */
+    @Override
+    boolean test(BackupInfo backupInfo);
+  }
+
+  public static Filter withRoot(String backupRoot) {
+    return info -> info.getBackupRootDir().equals(backupRoot);
+  }
+
+  public static Filter withType(BackupType type) {
+    return info -> info.getType() == type;
+  }
+
+  public static Filter withState(BackupState state) {
+    return info -> info.getState() == state;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -61,8 +71,7 @@ public interface Filter {
   public enum BackupState {
     RUNNING,
     COMPLETE,
-    FAILED,
-    ANY
+    FAILED
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupAdminImpl.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupAdminImpl.java
index c36b398e5e86..0044918b077c 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupAdminImpl.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupAdminImpl.java
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withRoot;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withType;
+
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
@@ -74,7 +78,7 @@ public BackupInfo getBackupInfo(String backupId) throws IOException {
     BackupInfo backupInfo;
     try (final BackupSystemTable table = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
       if (backupId == null) {
-        ArrayList<BackupInfo> recentSessions = table.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+        List<BackupInfo> recentSessions = table.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
         if (recentSessions.isEmpty()) {
           LOG.warn("No ongoing sessions found.");
           return null;
@@ -111,7 +115,7 @@ public int deleteBackups(String[] backupIds) throws IOException {
       }
 
       // Step 2: Make sure there is no failed session
-      List<BackupInfo> list = sysTable.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+      List<BackupInfo> list = sysTable.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
       if (list.size() != 0) {
         // ailed sessions found
         LOG.warn("Failed backup session found. Run backup repair tool first.");
@@ -301,7 +305,7 @@ private List<BackupInfo> getAffectedBackupSessions(BackupInfo backupInfo, TableN
     LOG.debug("GetAffectedBackupInfos for: " + backupInfo.getBackupId() + " table=" + tn);
     long ts = backupInfo.getStartTs();
     List<BackupInfo> list = new ArrayList<>();
-    List<BackupInfo> history = table.getBackupHistory(backupInfo.getBackupRootDir());
+    List<BackupInfo> history = table.getBackupHistory(withRoot(backupInfo.getBackupRootDir()));
     // Scan from most recent to backupInfo
     // break when backupInfo reached
     for (BackupInfo info : history) {
@@ -367,49 +371,10 @@ private boolean isLastBackupSession(BackupSystemTable table, TableName tn, long
     return false;
   }
 
-  @Override
-  public List<BackupInfo> getHistory(int n) throws IOException {
-    try (final BackupSystemTable table = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
-      List<BackupInfo> history = table.getBackupHistory();
-
-      if (history.size() <= n) {
-        return history;
-      }
-
-      List<BackupInfo> list = new ArrayList<>();
-      for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
-        list.add(history.get(i));
-      }
-      return list;
-    }
-  }
-
   @Override
   public List<BackupInfo> getHistory(int n, BackupInfo.Filter... filters) throws IOException {
-    if (filters.length == 0) {
-      return getHistory(n);
-    }
-
     try (final BackupSystemTable table = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
-      List<BackupInfo> history = table.getBackupHistory();
-      List<BackupInfo> result = new ArrayList<>();
-      for (BackupInfo bi : history) {
-        if (result.size() == n) {
-          break;
-        }
-
-        boolean passed = true;
-        for (int i = 0; i < filters.length; i++) {
-          if (!filters[i].apply(bi)) {
-            passed = false;
-            break;
-          }
-        }
-        if (passed) {
-          result.add(bi);
-        }
-      }
-      return result;
+      return table.getBackupInfos(n, filters);
     }
   }
 
@@ -672,7 +637,7 @@ private void checkIfValidForMerge(String[] backupIds, BackupSystemTable table)
     // Filter 1 : backupRoot
     // Filter 2 : time range filter
     // Filter 3 : table filter
-    BackupInfo.Filter destinationFilter = info -> info.getBackupRootDir().equals(backupDest);
+    BackupInfo.Filter destinationFilter = withRoot(backupDest);
 
     BackupInfo.Filter timeRangeFilter = info -> {
       long time = info.getStartTs();
@@ -684,10 +649,10 @@ private void checkIfValidForMerge(String[] backupIds, BackupSystemTable table)
       return !Collections.disjoint(allTables, tables);
     };
 
-    BackupInfo.Filter typeFilter = info -> info.getType() == BackupType.INCREMENTAL;
-    BackupInfo.Filter stateFilter = info -> info.getState() == BackupState.COMPLETE;
+    BackupInfo.Filter typeFilter = withType(BackupType.INCREMENTAL);
+    BackupInfo.Filter stateFilter = withState(BackupState.COMPLETE);
 
-    List<BackupInfo> allInfos = table.getBackupHistory(-1, destinationFilter, timeRangeFilter,
+    List<BackupInfo> allInfos = table.getBackupHistory(destinationFilter, timeRangeFilter,
       tableFilter, typeFilter, stateFilter);
     if (allInfos.size() != allBackups.size()) {
       // Yes we have at least one hole in backup image sequence
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupCommands.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupCommands.java
index 66694f4384f4..2926b7a8ee63 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupCommands.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupCommands.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupRestoreConstants.OPTION_BACKUP_LIST_DESC;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupRestoreConstants.OPTION_BANDWIDTH;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupRestoreConstants.OPTION_BANDWIDTH_DESC;
@@ -153,7 +154,7 @@ public void execute() throws IOException {
       if (requiresNoActiveSession()) {
         // Check active session
         try (BackupSystemTable table = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
-          List<BackupInfo> sessions = table.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+          List<BackupInfo> sessions = table.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
 
           if (sessions.size() > 0) {
             System.err.println("Found backup session in a RUNNING state: ");
@@ -528,7 +529,7 @@ public void execute() throws IOException {
         if (backupId != null) {
           info = sysTable.readBackupInfo(backupId);
         } else {
-          List<BackupInfo> infos = sysTable.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+          List<BackupInfo> infos = sysTable.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
           if (infos != null && infos.size() > 0) {
             info = infos.get(0);
             backupId = info.getBackupId();
@@ -594,18 +595,15 @@ private void executeDeleteOlderThan(CommandLine cmdline) throws IOException {
         throw new IOException(value + " is not an integer number");
       }
       final long fdays = days;
-      BackupInfo.Filter dateFilter = new BackupInfo.Filter() {
-        @Override
-        public boolean apply(BackupInfo info) {
-          long currentTime = EnvironmentEdgeManager.currentTime();
-          long maxTsToDelete = currentTime - fdays * 24 * 3600 * 1000;
-          return info.getCompleteTs() <= maxTsToDelete;
-        }
+      BackupInfo.Filter dateFilter = info -> {
+        long currentTime = EnvironmentEdgeManager.currentTime();
+        long maxTsToDelete = currentTime - fdays * 24 * 3600 * 1000;
+        return info.getCompleteTs() <= maxTsToDelete;
       };
       List<BackupInfo> history = null;
       try (final BackupSystemTable sysTable = new BackupSystemTable(conn);
         BackupAdminImpl admin = new BackupAdminImpl(conn)) {
-        history = sysTable.getBackupHistory(-1, dateFilter);
+        history = sysTable.getBackupHistory(dateFilter);
         String[] backupIds = convertToBackupIds(history);
         int deleted = admin.deleteBackups(backupIds);
         System.out.println("Deleted " + deleted + " backups. Total older than " + days + " days: "
@@ -679,7 +677,7 @@ public void execute() throws IOException {
         final BackupSystemTable sysTable = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
         // Failed backup
         BackupInfo backupInfo;
-        List<BackupInfo> list = sysTable.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+        List<BackupInfo> list = sysTable.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
         if (list.size() == 0) {
           // No failed sessions found
           System.out.println("REPAIR status: no failed sessions found."
@@ -860,27 +858,21 @@ public void execute() throws IOException {
       int n = parseHistoryLength();
       final TableName tableName = getTableName();
       final String setName = getTableSetName();
-      BackupInfo.Filter tableNameFilter = new BackupInfo.Filter() {
-        @Override
-        public boolean apply(BackupInfo info) {
-          if (tableName == null) {
-            return true;
-          }
-
-          List<TableName> names = info.getTableNames();
-          return names.contains(tableName);
+      BackupInfo.Filter tableNameFilter = info -> {
+        if (tableName == null) {
+          return true;
         }
-      };
-      BackupInfo.Filter tableSetFilter = new BackupInfo.Filter() {
-        @Override
-        public boolean apply(BackupInfo info) {
-          if (setName == null) {
-            return true;
-          }
 
-          String backupId = info.getBackupId();
-          return backupId.startsWith(setName);
+        List<TableName> names = info.getTableNames();
+        return names.contains(tableName);
+      };
+      BackupInfo.Filter tableSetFilter = info -> {
+        if (setName == null) {
+          return true;
         }
+
+        String backupId = info.getBackupId();
+        return backupId.startsWith(setName);
       };
       Path backupRootPath = getBackupRootPath();
       List<BackupInfo> history;
@@ -888,7 +880,8 @@ public boolean apply(BackupInfo info) {
         // Load from backup system table
         super.execute();
         try (final BackupSystemTable sysTable = new BackupSystemTable(conn)) {
-          history = sysTable.getBackupHistory(n, tableNameFilter, tableSetFilter);
+          history = sysTable.getBackupHistory(tableNameFilter, tableSetFilter);
+          history = history.subList(0, Math.min(n, history.size()));
         }
       } else {
         // load from backup FS
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupManager.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupManager.java
index 810af8f032ce..9cab455441bb 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupManager.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupManager.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
+
 import java.io.Closeable;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -249,7 +251,7 @@ public BackupInfo createBackupInfo(String backupId, BackupType type, List<TableN
    * @throws IOException exception
    */
   private String getOngoingBackupId() throws IOException {
-    ArrayList<BackupInfo> sessions = systemTable.getBackupInfos(BackupState.RUNNING);
+    List<BackupInfo> sessions = systemTable.getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.RUNNING));
     if (sessions.size() == 0) {
       return null;
     }
@@ -371,16 +373,10 @@ public void deleteBulkLoadedRows(List<byte[]> rows) throws IOException {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Get all completed backup information (in desc order by time)
-   * @return history info of BackupCompleteData
-   * @throws IOException exception
+   * Get all backup information, ordered by descending start time. I.e. from newest to oldest.
    */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory() throws IOException {
-    return systemTable.getBackupHistory();
-  }
-
-  public ArrayList<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(boolean completed) throws IOException {
-    return systemTable.getBackupHistory(completed);
+  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(BackupInfo.Filter... filters) throws IOException {
+    return systemTable.getBackupHistory(filters);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupSystemTable.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupSystemTable.java
index f2ddcf5e7573..3b46335a7299 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupSystemTable.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/BackupSystemTable.java
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withRoot;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withType;
+
 import edu.umd.cs.findbugs.annotations.Nullable;
 import java.io.Closeable;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -26,6 +30,7 @@
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Iterator;
@@ -36,7 +41,9 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.TreeSet;
+import java.util.function.Predicate;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.ArrayUtils;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
@@ -54,7 +61,6 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.BackupState;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupRestoreConstants;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupType;
-import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.util.BackupUtils;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.Admin;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.BufferedMutator;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.ColumnFamilyDescriptor;
@@ -592,123 +598,26 @@ public void writeRegionServerLastLogRollResult(String server, Long ts, String ba
   }
 
   /**
-   * Get all completed backup information (in desc order by time)
-   * @param onlyCompleted true, if only successfully completed sessions
-   * @return history info of BackupCompleteData
-   * @throws IOException exception
+   * Get all backup information passing the given filters, ordered by descending start time. I.e.
+   * from newest to oldest.
    */
-  public ArrayList<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(boolean onlyCompleted) throws IOException {
+  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(BackupInfo.Filter... toInclude) throws IOException {
     LOG.trace("get backup history from backup system table");
 
-    BackupState state = onlyCompleted ? BackupState.COMPLETE : BackupState.ANY;
-    ArrayList<BackupInfo> list = getBackupInfos(state);
-    return BackupUtils.sortHistoryListDesc(list);
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Get all backups history
-   * @return list of backup info
-   * @throws IOException if getting the backup history fails
-   */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory() throws IOException {
-    return getBackupHistory(false);
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Get first n backup history records
-   * @param n number of records, if n== -1 - max number is ignored
-   * @return list of records
-   * @throws IOException if getting the backup history fails
-   */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getHistory(int n) throws IOException {
-    List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory();
-    if (n == -1 || history.size() <= n) {
-      return history;
-    }
-    return Collections.unmodifiableList(history.subList(0, n));
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Get backup history records filtered by list of filters.
-   * @param n       max number of records, if n == -1 , then max number is ignored
-   * @param filters list of filters
-   * @return backup records
-   * @throws IOException if getting the backup history fails
-   */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(int n, BackupInfo.Filter... filters) throws IOException {
-    if (filters.length == 0) {
-      return getHistory(n);
-    }
-
-    List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory();
-    List<BackupInfo> result = new ArrayList<>();
-    for (BackupInfo bi : history) {
-      if (n >= 0 && result.size() == n) {
-        break;
-      }
-
-      boolean passed = true;
-      for (int i = 0; i < filters.length; i++) {
-        if (!filters[i].apply(bi)) {
-          passed = false;
-          break;
-        }
-      }
-      if (passed) {
-        result.add(bi);
-      }
-    }
-    return result;
+    List<BackupInfo> list = getBackupInfos(toInclude);
+    list.sort(Comparator.comparing(BackupInfo::getStartTs).reversed());
+    return list;
   }
 
   /**
-   * Retrieve all table names that are part of any known backup
+   * Retrieve all table names that are part of any known completed backup
    */
   public Set<TableName> getTablesIncludedInBackups() throws IOException {
-    Set<TableName> names = new HashSet<>();
-    List<BackupInfo> infos = getBackupHistory(true);
-    for (BackupInfo info : infos) {
-      // Incremental backups have the same tables as the preceding full backups
-      if (info.getType() == BackupType.FULL) {
-        names.addAll(info.getTableNames());
-      }
-    }
-    return names;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Get history for backup destination
-   * @param backupRoot backup destination path
-   * @return List of backup info
-   * @throws IOException if getting the backup history fails
-   */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistory(String backupRoot) throws IOException {
-    ArrayList<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory(false);
-    for (Iterator<BackupInfo> iterator = history.iterator(); iterator.hasNext();) {
-      BackupInfo info = iterator.next();
-      if (!backupRoot.equals(info.getBackupRootDir())) {
-        iterator.remove();
-      }
-    }
-    return history;
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Get history for a table
-   * @param name table name
-   * @return history for a table
-   * @throws IOException if getting the backup history fails
-   */
-  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistoryForTable(TableName name) throws IOException {
-    List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory();
-    List<BackupInfo> tableHistory = new ArrayList<>();
-    for (BackupInfo info : history) {
-      List<TableName> tables = info.getTableNames();
-      if (tables.contains(name)) {
-        tableHistory.add(info);
-      }
-    }
-    return tableHistory;
+    // Incremental backups have the same tables as the preceding full backups
+    List<BackupInfo> infos =
+      getBackupInfos(withState(BackupState.COMPLETE), withType(BackupType.FULL));
+    return infos.stream().flatMap(info -> info.getTableNames().stream())
+      .collect(Collectors.toSet());
   }
 
   /**
@@ -722,7 +631,7 @@ public List<BackupInfo> getBackupHistoryForTable(TableName name) throws IOExcept
    */
   public Map<TableName, List<BackupInfo>> getBackupHistoryForTableSet(Set<TableName> set,
     String backupRoot) throws IOException {
-    List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory(backupRoot);
+    List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupHistory(withRoot(backupRoot));
     Map<TableName, List<BackupInfo>> tableHistoryMap = new HashMap<>();
     for (BackupInfo info : history) {
       List<TableName> tables = info.getTableNames();
@@ -738,16 +647,27 @@ public Map<TableName, List<BackupInfo>> getBackupHistoryForTableSet(Set<TableNam
   }
 
   /**
-   * Get all backup sessions with a given state (in descending order by time)
-   * @param state backup session state
-   * @return history info of backup info objects
-   * @throws IOException exception
+   * Get all backup infos passing the given filters (ordered by ascending backup id)
    */
-  public ArrayList<BackupInfo> getBackupInfos(BackupState state) throws IOException {
+  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupInfos(BackupInfo.Filter... toInclude) throws IOException {
+    return getBackupInfos(Integer.MAX_VALUE, toInclude);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Get the first n backup infos passing the given filters (ordered by ascending backup id)
+   */
+  public List<BackupInfo> getBackupInfos(int n, BackupInfo.Filter... toInclude) throws IOException {
     LOG.trace("get backup infos from backup system table");
 
+    if (n <= 0) {
+      return Collections.emptyList();
+    }
+
+    Predicate<BackupInfo> combinedPredicate = Stream.of(toInclude)
+      .map(filter -> (Predicate<BackupInfo>) filter).reduce(Predicate::and).orElse(x -> true);
+
     Scan scan = createScanForBackupHistory();
-    ArrayList<BackupInfo> list = new ArrayList<>();
+    List<BackupInfo> list = new ArrayList<>();
 
     try (Table table = connection.getTable(tableName);
       ResultScanner scanner = table.getScanner(scan)) {
@@ -755,10 +675,12 @@ public ArrayList<BackupInfo> getBackupInfos(BackupState state) throws IOExceptio
       while ((res = scanner.next()) != null) {
         res.advance();
         BackupInfo context = cellToBackupInfo(res.current());
-        if (state != BackupState.ANY && context.getState() != state) {
-          continue;
+        if (combinedPredicate.test(context)) {
+          list.add(context);
+          if (list.size() == n) {
+            break;
+          }
         }
-        list.add(context);
       }
       return list;
     }
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/TableBackupClient.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/TableBackupClient.java
index 30c27f01faaf..5d6d3242b120 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/TableBackupClient.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/impl/TableBackupClient.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
+
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collections;
@@ -310,7 +312,8 @@ protected List<BackupImage> getAncestors(BackupInfo backupInfo) throws IOExcepti
     Set<TableName> tablesToCover = new HashSet<>(backupInfo.getTables());
 
     // Go over the backup history list from newest to oldest
-    List<BackupInfo> allHistoryList = backupManager.getBackupHistory(true);
+    List<BackupInfo> allHistoryList =
+      backupManager.getBackupHistory(withState(BackupState.COMPLETE));
     for (BackupInfo backup : allHistoryList) {
       // If the image has a different rootDir, it cannot be an ancestor.
       if (!Objects.equals(backup.getBackupRootDir(), backupInfo.getBackupRootDir())) {
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/master/BackupLogCleaner.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/master/BackupLogCleaner.java
index 41f188574040..7c62b7a681d8 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/master/BackupLogCleaner.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/master/BackupLogCleaner.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
  */
 package org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.master;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.withState;
+
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.HBaseInterfaceAudience;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.TableName;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo;
+import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupInfo.BackupState;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.BackupRestoreConstants;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl.BackupManager;
 import org.apache.hadoop.hbase.backup.impl.BackupSystemTable;
@@ -91,7 +94,7 @@ public void init(Map<String, Object> params) {
    */
   private BackupBoundaries serverToPreservationBoundaryTs(BackupSystemTable sysTable)
     throws IOException {
-    List<BackupInfo> backups = sysTable.getBackupHistory(true);
+    List<BackupInfo> backups = sysTable.getBackupHistory(withState(BackupState.COMPLETE));
     if (LOG.isDebugEnabled()) {
       LOG.debug(
         "Cleaning WALs if they are older than the WAL cleanup time-boundary. "
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/util/BackupUtils.java b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/util/BackupUtils.java
index c327172d1c92..033975c42484 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/util/BackupUtils.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/util/BackupUtils.java
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
-import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.TreeSet;
+import java.util.function.Predicate;
+import java.util.stream.Stream;
 import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FSDataOutputStream;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileStatus;
@@ -494,24 +494,6 @@ public static String getTableBackupDir(String backupRootDir, String backupId,
       + Path.SEPARATOR;
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Sort history list by start time in descending order.
-   * @param historyList history list
-   * @return sorted list of BackupCompleteData
-   */
-  public static ArrayList<BackupInfo> sortHistoryListDesc(ArrayList<BackupInfo> historyList) {
-    ArrayList<BackupInfo> list = new ArrayList<>();
-    TreeMap<String, BackupInfo> map = new TreeMap<>();
-    for (BackupInfo h : historyList) {
-      map.put(Long.toString(h.getStartTs()), h);
-    }
-    Iterator<String> i = map.descendingKeySet().iterator();
-    while (i.hasNext()) {
-      list.add(map.get(i.next()));
-    }
-    return list;
-  }
-
   /**
    * Calls fs.listStatus() and treats FileNotFoundException as non-fatal This accommodates
    * differences between hadoop versions, where hadoop 1 does not throw a FileNotFoundException, and
@@ -612,23 +594,11 @@ private long getTimestamp(String backupId) {
   public static List<BackupInfo> getHistory(Configuration conf, int n, Path backupRootPath,
     BackupInfo.Filter... filters) throws IOException {
     List<BackupInfo> infos = getHistory(conf, backupRootPath);
-    List<BackupInfo> ret = new ArrayList<>();
-    for (BackupInfo info : infos) {
-      if (ret.size() == n) {
-        break;
-      }
-      boolean passed = true;
-      for (int i = 0; i < filters.length; i++) {
-        if (!filters[i].apply(info)) {
-          passed = false;
-          break;
-        }
-      }
-      if (passed) {
-        ret.add(info);
-      }
-    }
-    return ret;
+
+    Predicate<BackupInfo> combinedPredicate = Stream.of(filters)
+      .map(filter -> (Predicate<BackupInfo>) filter).reduce(Predicate::and).orElse(x -> true);
+
+    return infos.stream().filter(combinedPredicate).limit(n).toList();
   }
 
   public static BackupInfo loadBackupInfo(Path backupRootPath, String backupId, FileSystem fs)
diff --git a/hbase-backup/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/TestBackupShowHistory.java b/hbase-backup/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/TestBackupShowHistory.java
index fa624250929d..165003fdb5cb 100644
--- a/hbase-backup/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/TestBackupShowHistory.java
+++ b/hbase-backup/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/backup/TestBackupShowHistory.java
@@ -74,8 +74,7 @@ public void testBackupHistory() throws Exception {
 
     List<BackupInfo> history = getBackupAdmin().getHistory(10);
     assertTrue(findBackup(history, backupId));
-    BackupInfo.Filter nullFilter = info -> true;
-    history = BackupUtils.getHistory(conf1, 10, new Path(BACKUP_ROOT_DIR), nullFilter);
+    history = BackupUtils.getHistory(conf1, 10, new Path(BACKUP_ROOT_DIR));
     assertTrue(findBackup(history, backupId));
 
     ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();