diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b7116d3..165cc89 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ All notable changes to Voicebox will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Fixed
+- **Profile Name Validation** - Added proper validation to prevent duplicate profile names ([#134](https://github.com/jamiepine/voicebox/issues/134))
+  - Users now receive clear error messages when attempting to create or update profiles with duplicate names
+  - Improved error handling in create and update profile API endpoints
+  - Added comprehensive test suite for duplicate name validation
+
 ## [0.1.0] - 2026-01-25
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index e218d23..c3ad18f 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -221,7 +221,10 @@ async def create_profile(
     """Create a new voice profile."""
     try:
         return await profiles.create_profile(data, db)
+    except ValueError as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=str(e))
     except Exception as e:
+        # Fallback for unexpected errors
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=str(e))
 
 
@@ -277,10 +280,13 @@ async def update_profile(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ):
     """Update a voice profile."""
-    profile = await profiles.update_profile(profile_id, data, db)
-    if not profile:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Profile not found")
-    return profile
+    try:
+        profile = await profiles.update_profile(profile_id, data, db)
+        if not profile:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Profile not found")
+        return profile
+    except ValueError as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=str(e))
 
 
 @app.delete("/profiles/{profile_id}")
diff --git a/backend/profiles.py b/backend/profiles.py
index cda6bee..7b4cc93 100644
--- a/backend/profiles.py
+++ b/backend/profiles.py
@@ -38,14 +38,22 @@ async def create_profile(
 ) -> VoiceProfileResponse:
     """
     Create a new voice profile.
-    
+
     Args:
         data: Profile creation data
         db: Database session
-        
+
     Returns:
         Created profile
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If a profile with the same name already exists
     """
+    # Check if profile name already exists
+    existing_profile = db.query(DBVoiceProfile).filter_by(name=data.name).first()
+    if existing_profile:
+        raise ValueError(f"A profile with the name '{data.name}' already exists. Please choose a different name.")
+
     # Create profile in database
     db_profile = DBVoiceProfile(
         id=str(uuid.uuid4()),
@@ -55,15 +63,15 @@ async def create_profile(
         created_at=datetime.utcnow(),
         updated_at=datetime.utcnow(),
     )
-    
+
     db.add(db_profile)
     db.commit()
     db.refresh(db_profile)
-    
+
     # Create profile directory
     profile_dir = _get_profiles_dir() / db_profile.id
     profile_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    
+
     return VoiceProfileResponse.model_validate(db_profile)
 
 
@@ -191,28 +199,37 @@ async def update_profile(
 ) -> Optional[VoiceProfileResponse]:
     """
     Update a voice profile.
-    
+
     Args:
         profile_id: Profile ID
         data: Updated profile data
         db: Database session
-        
+
     Returns:
         Updated profile or None if not found
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError: If a profile with the same name already exists (different profile)
     """
     profile = db.query(DBVoiceProfile).filter_by(id=profile_id).first()
     if not profile:
         return None
-    
+
+    # Check if the new name conflicts with another profile
+    if profile.name != data.name:
+        existing_profile = db.query(DBVoiceProfile).filter_by(name=data.name).first()
+        if existing_profile:
+            raise ValueError(f"A profile with the name '{data.name}' already exists. Please choose a different name.")
+
     # Update fields
     profile.name = data.name
     profile.description = data.description
     profile.language = data.language
     profile.updated_at = datetime.utcnow()
-    
+
     db.commit()
     db.refresh(profile)
-    
+
     return VoiceProfileResponse.model_validate(profile)
 
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_profile_duplicate_names.py b/backend/tests/test_profile_duplicate_names.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81d4f7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_profile_duplicate_names.py
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+"""
+Tests for profile duplicate name validation.
+
+This test suite verifies that the application correctly handles
+duplicate profile names and provides user-friendly error messages.
+"""
+
+import pytest
+import tempfile
+import shutil
+from pathlib import Path
+from sqlalchemy import create_engine
+from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker
+
+# Add parent directory to path to import backend modules
+import sys
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent))
+
+from database import Base, VoiceProfile as DBVoiceProfile
+from models import VoiceProfileCreate
+from profiles import create_profile, update_profile
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def test_db():
+    """Create a temporary test database."""
+    # Create temporary directory for test database
+    temp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+    db_path = Path(temp_dir) / "test.db"
+
+    # Create engine and session
+    engine = create_engine(f"sqlite:///{db_path}")
+    Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
+    SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)
+
+    db = SessionLocal()
+
+    yield db
+
+    # Cleanup
+    db.close()
+    shutil.rmtree(temp_dir)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mock_profiles_dir(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    """Mock the profiles directory to use a temporary path."""
+    import profiles
+    monkeypatch.setattr(profiles, '_get_profiles_dir', lambda: tmp_path)
+    return tmp_path
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_create_profile_duplicate_name_raises_error(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that creating a profile with a duplicate name raises a ValueError."""
+    # Create first profile
+    profile_data_1 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Test Profile",
+        description="First profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    profile_1 = await create_profile(profile_data_1, test_db)
+    assert profile_1.name == "Test Profile"
+
+    # Try to create second profile with same name
+    profile_data_2 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Test Profile",
+        description="Second profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+        await create_profile(profile_data_2, test_db)
+
+    # Verify error message is user-friendly
+    assert "already exists" in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "Test Profile" in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "choose a different name" in str(exc_info.value).lower()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_create_profile_different_names_succeeds(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that creating profiles with different names succeeds."""
+    # Create first profile
+    profile_data_1 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Profile One",
+        description="First profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    profile_1 = await create_profile(profile_data_1, test_db)
+    assert profile_1.name == "Profile One"
+
+    # Create second profile with different name
+    profile_data_2 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Profile Two",
+        description="Second profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    profile_2 = await create_profile(profile_data_2, test_db)
+    assert profile_2.name == "Profile Two"
+
+    # Verify both profiles exist
+    assert profile_1.id != profile_2.id
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_update_profile_to_duplicate_name_raises_error(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that updating a profile to a duplicate name raises a ValueError."""
+    # Create two profiles with different names
+    profile_data_1 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Profile A",
+        description="First profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile_1 = await create_profile(profile_data_1, test_db)
+
+    profile_data_2 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Profile B",
+        description="Second profile",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile_2 = await create_profile(profile_data_2, test_db)
+
+    # Try to update profile_2 to use profile_1's name
+    update_data = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Profile A",  # Duplicate name
+        description="Updated description",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+        await update_profile(profile_2.id, update_data, test_db)
+
+    # Verify error message is user-friendly
+    assert "already exists" in str(exc_info.value)
+    assert "Profile A" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_update_profile_keep_same_name_succeeds(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that updating a profile while keeping the same name succeeds."""
+    # Create profile
+    profile_data = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="My Profile",
+        description="Original description",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile = await create_profile(profile_data, test_db)
+
+    # Update profile with same name but different description
+    update_data = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="My Profile",  # Same name
+        description="Updated description",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    updated_profile = await update_profile(profile.id, update_data, test_db)
+
+    # Verify update succeeded
+    assert updated_profile is not None
+    assert updated_profile.id == profile.id
+    assert updated_profile.name == "My Profile"
+    assert updated_profile.description == "Updated description"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_update_profile_to_new_unique_name_succeeds(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that updating a profile to a new unique name succeeds."""
+    # Create profile
+    profile_data = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Original Name",
+        description="Profile description",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile = await create_profile(profile_data, test_db)
+
+    # Update profile with new unique name
+    update_data = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="New Unique Name",
+        description="Updated description",
+        language="en"
+    )
+
+    updated_profile = await update_profile(profile.id, update_data, test_db)
+
+    # Verify update succeeded
+    assert updated_profile is not None
+    assert updated_profile.id == profile.id
+    assert updated_profile.name == "New Unique Name"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_case_sensitive_names_allowed(test_db, mock_profiles_dir):
+    """Test that profile names are case-sensitive (e.g., 'Test' and 'test' are different)."""
+    # Create profile with lowercase name
+    profile_data_1 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="test profile",
+        description="Lowercase",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile_1 = await create_profile(profile_data_1, test_db)
+
+    # Create profile with different case
+    profile_data_2 = VoiceProfileCreate(
+        name="Test Profile",
+        description="Title case",
+        language="en"
+    )
+    profile_2 = await create_profile(profile_data_2, test_db)
+
+    # Both should succeed since SQLite unique constraint is case-sensitive by default
+    assert profile_1.name == "test profile"
+    assert profile_2.name == "Test Profile"
+    assert profile_1.id != profile_2.id