diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventController.php
index 00b5b2d..9ac1619 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/Api/EventController.php
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public function store(Request $request): JsonResponse
         $validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
             'name' => [
                 'required', 'string', 'max:255',
-                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id),
+                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->withoutTrashed(),
             ],
             'description' => 'nullable|string|max:1000',
             'schema' => ['nullable', 'array', new ValidEventSchema()],
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ public function update(Request $request, Event $event): JsonResponse
         $validator = Validator::make($request->all(), [
             'name' => [
                 'string', 'max:255',
-                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->ignore($event->id),
+                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->ignore($event->id)->withoutTrashed(),
             ],
             'description' => 'nullable|string|max:1000',
             'schema' => ['nullable', 'array', new ValidEventSchema()],
diff --git a/app/Http/Controllers/EventController.php b/app/Http/Controllers/EventController.php
index 03564ab..b8a6f47 100644
--- a/app/Http/Controllers/EventController.php
+++ b/app/Http/Controllers/EventController.php
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ public function store(Request $request): RedirectResponse
         $validated = $request->validate([
             'name' => [
                 'required', 'string', 'max:255',
-                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id),
+                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->withoutTrashed(),
             ],
             'event_type' => 'nullable|string|max:255',
             'description' => 'nullable|string|max:1000',
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public function update(Request $request, Event $event): RedirectResponse
         $validated = $request->validate([
             'name' => [
                 'required', 'string', 'max:255',
-                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->ignore($event->id),
+                Rule::unique('events', 'name')->where('user_id', $request->user()->id)->ignore($event->id)->withoutTrashed(),
             ],
             'event_type' => 'nullable|string|max:255',
             'description' => 'nullable|string|max:1000',
diff --git a/database/migrations/2026_09_04_191547_scope_events_unique_index_to_non_deleted_rows.php b/database/migrations/2026_09_04_191547_scope_events_unique_index_to_non_deleted_rows.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a43f068
--- /dev/null
+++ b/database/migrations/2026_09_04_191547_scope_events_unique_index_to_non_deleted_rows.php
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<?php
+
+use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
+use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\DB;
+use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;
+
+return new class () extends Migration {
+    /**
+     * Run the migrations.
+     */
+    public function up(): void
+    {
+        Schema::table('events', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->dropUnique(['user_id', 'name']);
+        });
+
+        // A plain unique index on (user_id, name) also matches soft-deleted
+        // rows, permanently blocking reuse of a deleted event's name since
+        // there is no restore path in the app. Scope the constraint to
+        // non-deleted rows only via a partial index; this syntax is
+        // supported identically by SQLite (tests) and PostgreSQL
+        // (production), the two drivers this app runs on.
+        DB::statement(
+            'CREATE UNIQUE INDEX events_user_id_name_unique ON events (user_id, name) WHERE deleted_at IS NULL'
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reverse the migrations.
+     */
+    public function down(): void
+    {
+        DB::statement('DROP INDEX events_user_id_name_unique');
+
+        Schema::table('events', function (Blueprint $table) {
+            $table->unique(['user_id', 'name']);
+        });
+    }
+};
diff --git a/tests/Feature/SoftDeletedEventNameReuseTest.php b/tests/Feature/SoftDeletedEventNameReuseTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10a5554
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Feature/SoftDeletedEventNameReuseTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Tests\Feature;
+
+use App\Models\Event;
+use App\Models\User;
+use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
+use Tests\TestCase;
+
+class SoftDeletedEventNameReuseTest extends TestCase
+{
+    use RefreshDatabase;
+
+    public function test_user_can_reuse_the_name_of_a_soft_deleted_event_via_web(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->withPersonalTeam()->create();
+        $original = Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.created']);
+        $original->delete();
+
+        $this->assertSoftDeleted($original);
+
+        $this->actingAs($user)
+            ->post('/events', ['name' => 'order.created'])
+            ->assertRedirect(route('events'));
+
+        $this->assertDatabaseHas('events', [
+            'user_id' => $user->id,
+            'name' => 'order.created',
+            'deleted_at' => null,
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    public function test_user_can_rename_an_event_to_the_name_of_a_soft_deleted_event_via_web(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->withPersonalTeam()->create();
+        $deleted = Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.created']);
+        $deleted->delete();
+        $active = Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.updated']);
+
+        $this->actingAs($user)
+            ->put("/events/{$active->id}", ['name' => 'order.created'])
+            ->assertRedirect(route('events'));
+
+        $this->assertDatabaseHas('events', [
+            'id' => $active->id,
+            'name' => 'order.created',
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    public function test_user_still_cannot_reuse_the_name_of_an_active_event_via_web(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->withPersonalTeam()->create();
+        Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.created']);
+
+        $this->actingAs($user)
+            ->post('/events', ['name' => 'order.created'])
+            ->assertSessionHasErrors('name');
+
+        $this->assertDatabaseCount('events', 1);
+    }
+
+    public function test_user_can_reuse_the_name_of_a_soft_deleted_event_via_api(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->withPersonalTeam()->create();
+        $original = Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.created']);
+        $original->delete();
+
+        $this->actingAs($user)
+            ->postJson('/api/v1/events', ['name' => 'order.created'])
+            ->assertStatus(201);
+
+        $this->assertDatabaseHas('events', [
+            'user_id' => $user->id,
+            'name' => 'order.created',
+            'deleted_at' => null,
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    public function test_user_still_cannot_reuse_the_name_of_an_active_event_via_api(): void
+    {
+        $user = User::factory()->withPersonalTeam()->create();
+        Event::factory()->for($user)->create(['name' => 'order.created']);
+
+        $this->actingAs($user)
+            ->postJson('/api/v1/events', ['name' => 'order.created'])
+            ->assertStatus(422)
+            ->assertJsonValidationErrors('name');
+
+        $this->assertDatabaseCount('events', 1);
+    }
+}