<p>ER_EVENT_SAME_NAME (error 1551) occurs when ALTER EVENT or RENAME EVENT tries to give an event the same name it already has.</p>
<p>MySQL Error 1551: ER_EVENT_SAME_NAME happens when you attempt to rename a scheduled event to its current name. Use a truly new name or skip the RENAME clause to resolve the issue.</p>
Same old and new event name
Error 1551 fires when MySQL detects that the old event name and the new event name in an ALTER EVENT or RENAME EVENT statement are identical. The server blocks the statement because the rename operation would make no change.
The error belongs to the Event Scheduler subsystem and appears in any MySQL edition that supports scheduled events, including versions 5.1 and later.
The error usually emerges during schema refactors, automation scripts, or GUI-based renames where the new name field is auto-filled with the current name. It is triggered before any metadata is modified, so no event definitions are lost.
Leaving the rename statement unchanged keeps deployment scripts from completing, breaks CI pipelines, and can hide genuine naming mistakes in production. Correcting the statement prevents unnecessary deployment failures.
MySQL compares the identifier after RENAME TO with the existing event name inside the same database. If they match byte-for-byte, ER_EVENT_SAME_NAME is raised.
Case sensitivity follows lower_case_table_names rules, so names that differ only in case on case-insensitive systems will still clash.
Supply a brand-new event name in the RENAME clause, or drop the clause entirely if no rename is needed. Confirm the target database and delimiters to avoid accidental matches.
CI pipeline fails - edit migration file to give the event a unique name.
GUI tool auto-generated SQL - uncheck the rename option before applying.
Validate migration scripts with a linter that compares identifiers before execution. Use naming conventions and version suffixes for events.
ER_EVENT_NOT_FOUND (1537) - happens when the specified event does not exist. Check database and spelling.
ER_EVENT_ALREADY_EXISTS (1531) - occurs if you create an event with a name that is already in use. Choose another name or drop the existing event.
The new identifier in RENAME TO exactly matches the old event name.
On Windows or macOS with lower_case_table_names=1, MySQL treats 'DailyRun' and 'dailyrun' as identical.
ORMs or GUI tools can emit ALTER EVENT statements with the same name in both positions.
Raised when attempting to alter or drop a non-existent event.
Occurs when creating an event with a duplicate name.
Triggered by invalid characters in an event identifier.
Yes, but the new name must differ from the current one. Otherwise error 1551 appears.
It depends on lower_case_table_names. On case-insensitive systems, 'EventA' equals 'eventa'.
No server variable disables it, but you can wrap the statement in a conditional procedure.
Galaxy highlights duplicate identifiers in real time and its AI copilot suggests valid new names, preventing ER_EVENT_SAME_NAME before execution.
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