diff --git a/generator/src/main/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepository.kt b/generator/src/main/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepository.kt
index 3b95620..3017017 100644
--- a/generator/src/main/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepository.kt
+++ b/generator/src/main/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepository.kt
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package norm.generator
 
+import com.squareup.kotlinpoet.ANY
 import com.squareup.kotlinpoet.ARRAY
 import com.squareup.kotlinpoet.ClassName
 import com.squareup.kotlinpoet.CodeBlock
@@ -902,9 +903,21 @@ private fun PropertySource.hasDocumentation(hasTableMapping: Boolean, reservedWo
   comment.isNotEmpty() || (!hasTableMapping && sourceReference(reservedWords) != null)
 
 /**
- * A regular Kotlin identifier: matched WITHOUT surrounding backticks in KDoc's `@property` tag.
+ * Whether KotlinPoet would backtick-quote the property declaration it renders for [name].
+ *
+ * KotlinPoet escapes a declaration name for four independent reasons -- not a legal Java identifier,
+ * one of its own reserved `KEYWORDS`, contains `$`, or is all underscores -- and both the rule and
+ * the keyword set are `internal` to it, so a copy here would drift. Rendering a throwaway
+ * [PropertySpec] asks KotlinPoet directly instead.
+ *
+ * Tests for a backtick anywhere in the rendered text rather than for `` `$name` `` specifically:
+ * KotlinPoet's line wrapper substitutes a space for the characters it reserves as wrapping markers
+ * (U+00B7 and U+2662), so such a name is escaped in the output without appearing there verbatim.
+ * Callers must rule out a name containing its own backtick first -- KotlinPoet treats one as already
+ * escaped and skips all four checks.
  */
-private val PLAIN_KOTLIN_IDENTIFIER = Regex("[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*")
+private fun needsKotlinPoetDeclarationBackticks(name: String): Boolean =
+  PropertySpec.builder(name, ANY).build().toString().contains('`')
 
 /**
  * Formats a Kotlin property name for use as the name token in a KDoc `@property` tag.
@@ -912,7 +925,9 @@ private val PLAIN_KOTLIN_IDENTIFIER = Regex("[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*")
  * KDoc's `@property` tag takes exactly one name token before the description text begins, so a
  * property name containing a space or other non-identifier character (e.g. the Kotlin property
  * `` `My Col` `` generated for a quoted SQL column `"My Col"`) must be wrapped in backticks here too
- * -- otherwise `@property My Col Some comment.` reads as a property literally named `My`.
+ * -- otherwise `@property My Col Some comment.` reads as a property literally named `My`. The name is
+ * left bare only when the declaration KotlinPoet renders for it is bare too, so the two never
+ * disagree.
  *
  * Uses [wrapInBacktickDelimiter]'s longest-run rule rather than a fixed single-backtick wrap, since a
  * name containing its own literal backtick (e.g. `` a`b ``) would otherwise close the `@property`
@@ -931,7 +946,7 @@ private val PLAIN_KOTLIN_IDENTIFIER = Regex("[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*")
  * same field also carries the identifier back into generated SQL and catalog lookups.
  */
 private fun String.formatAsKdocPropertyReference(): String? = when {
-  PLAIN_KOTLIN_IDENTIFIER.matches(this) -> this
+  !contains('`') && !needsKotlinPoetDeclarationBackticks(this) -> this
   containsUnescapableBlockCommentDelimiter(this) -> null
   else -> wrapInBacktickDelimiter(this)
 }
diff --git a/generator/src/test/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepositoryTest.kt b/generator/src/test/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepositoryTest.kt
index df4e7f4..adefa9c 100644
--- a/generator/src/test/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepositoryTest.kt
+++ b/generator/src/test/kotlin/norm/generator/TypeRepositoryTest.kt
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import assertk.assertThat
 import assertk.assertions.contains
 import assertk.assertions.doesNotContain
 import assertk.assertions.isEqualTo
+import assertk.assertions.isTrue
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Nested
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
 
@@ -358,6 +359,144 @@ class TypeRepositoryTest {
     }
   }
 
+  @Nested
+  inner class PropertyNameKdocDeclarationAgreement {
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a Unicode-letter property name is bare in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      // Kotlin identifiers accept Unicode letters, so this one needs backticks in neither place.
+      val unicodeColumn = Column(
+        name = "café",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getCafe", listOf(unicodeColumn), "SELECT café FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property café Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val café:")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).doesNotContain("`café`")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a KotlinPoet keyword property name is backtick-quoted in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      // A Kotlin keyword is a legal Java identifier, so only KotlinPoet's own KEYWORDS set catches it.
+      val keywordColumn = Column(
+        name = "object",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getObject", listOf(keywordColumn), "SELECT \"object\" FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property `object` Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val `object`:")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an all-underscore property name is backtick-quoted in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      val underscoreColumn = Column(
+        name = "_",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getUnderscore", listOf(underscoreColumn), "SELECT \"_\" FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property `_` Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val `_`:")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a dollar-sign-containing property name is backtick-quoted in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      // Character.isJavaIdentifierPart('$') is true, so widening only to the Java identifier rule
+      // would leave this bare while KotlinPoet still backticks the declaration.
+      val dollarColumn = Column(
+        name = "a\$b",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getDollar", listOf(dollarColumn), "SELECT \"a\$b\" FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property `a\$b` Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val `a\$b`:")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a space-containing property name is backtick-quoted in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      val spacedColumn = Column(
+        name = "My Col",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getMyColAgreement", listOf(spacedColumn), "SELECT \"My Col\" FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property `My Col` Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val `My Col`:")
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an interpunct-containing property name is backtick-quoted in the property tag`() {
+      // KotlinPoet reserves U+00B7 as a line-wrapping marker and renders it as a space, so this name
+      // is escaped in the output without appearing there verbatim. Asserting only that the tag is
+      // backtick-wrapped: the same substitution mangles the name text in tag and declaration alike,
+      // which is KotlinPoet's behavior, not this function's.
+      val interpunctColumn = Column(
+        name = "col·lecció d'art",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "text"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery(
+        "getInterpunct",
+        listOf(interpunctColumn),
+        "SELECT \"col·lecció d'art\" FROM t",
+      )
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      val backtickWrappedPropertyTag = Regex("@property `[^`]*` Comment\\.")
+      assertThat(backtickWrappedPropertyTag.containsMatchIn(renderedFile)).isTrue()
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `an ordinary ASCII property name is bare in both the property tag and the declaration`() {
+      // Regression guard: an ordinary identifier must not gain spurious backticks in either place.
+      val plainColumn = Column(
+        name = "id",
+        notNull = true,
+        type = Identifier(name = "int4"),
+        comment = "Comment.",
+      )
+
+      val repository = TypeRepository("test", Catalog())
+      repository.buildTypeProjectionForQuery("getIdAgreement", listOf(plainColumn), "SELECT id FROM t")
+
+      val renderedFile = repository.requiredTypes.first().toString()
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("@property id Comment.")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).contains("val id:")
+      assertThat(renderedFile).doesNotContain("`id`")
+    }
+  }
+
   @Nested
   inner class TableColumnSourceReferenceQuoting {