尝试使用一个识别符，例如使用嵌入式MySQL数据类型或函数名作为表名或列名，例如TIMESTAMP或GROUP，会造成一个常见问题。允许你这样操作(例如，ABS可以作为一个列名)。但是，默认情况下，在数调用中在函数名和后面的‘(’字符之间不允许有空格。该要求使函数调用与列名引用不同。
该行为的不利结果是在某些上下文中省略一个空格会使识别符解释为函数名。例如，该语句合法：
mysql> CREATE TABLE abs (val INT)；
但省略abs后面的空格会造成语法错误，因为省略后该语句好像要调用ABS()函数：
mysql> CREATE TABLE abs(val INT);
如果SQL服务器模式包括IGNORE_SPACE模式值，服务器允许函数调用时在函数名和后面的‘(’字符之间有空格。这样使函数名被视为保留字。结果是，与函数名相同的识别符必须按照9.2节，“数据库、表、索引、列和别名”中所描述的引起来。SQL服务器模式按照5.3.2节，“SQL服务器模式”中所描述的进行控制。
限定名中句点后面的字必须为一个识别符，因此不需要将它引起来，即使它是一个保留字。
在MySQL中，下表中的字显式被保留。其中大多数字进制被标准SQL用作列名和/或表名(例如，GROUP)。少数被保留了，因为MySQL需要它们，(目前)使用yacc解析程序。保留字被引起来后可以用作识别符。
| ADD | ALL | ALTER |
| ANALYZE | AND | AS |
| ASC | ASENSITIVE | BEFORE |
| BETWEEN | BIGINT | BINARY |
| BLOB | BOTH | BY |
| CALL | CASCADE | CASE |
| CHANGE | CHAR | CHARACTER |
| CHECK | COLLATE | COLUMN |
| CONDITION | CONNECTION | CONSTRAINT |
| CONTINUE | CONVERT | CREATE |
| CROSS | CURRENT_DATE | CURRENT_TIME |
| CURRENT_TIMESTAMP | CURRENT_USER | CURSOR |
| DATABASE | DATABASES | DAY_HOUR |
| DAY_MICROSECOND | DAY_MINUTE | DAY_SECOND |
| DEC | DECIMAL | DECLARE |
| DEFAULT | DELAYED | DELETE |
| DESC | DESCRIBE | DETERMINISTIC |
| DISTINCT | DISTINCTROW | DIV |
| DOUBLE | DROP | DUAL |
| EACH | ELSE | ELSEIF |
| ENCLOSED | ESCAPED | EXISTS |
| EXIT | EXPLAIN | FALSE |
| FETCH | FLOAT | FLOAT4 |
| FLOAT8 | FOR | FORCE |
| FOREIGN | FROM | FULLTEXT |
| GOTO | GRANT | GROUP |
| HAVING | HIGH_PRIORITY | HOUR_MICROSECOND |
| HOUR_MINUTE | HOUR_SECOND | IF |
| IGNORE | IN | INDEX |
| INFILE | INNER | INOUT |
| INSENSITIVE | INSERT | INT |
| INT1 | INT2 | INT3 |
| INT4 | INT8 | INTEGER |
| INTERVAL | INTO | IS |
| ITERATE | JOIN | KEY |
| KEYS | KILL | LABEL |
| LEADING | LEAVE | LEFT |
| LIKE | LIMIT | LINEAR |
| LINES | LOAD | LOCALTIME |
| LOCALTIMESTAMP | LOCK | LONG |
| LONGBLOB | LONGTEXT | LOOP |
| LOW_PRIORITY | MATCH | MEDIUMBLOB |
| MEDIUMINT | MEDIUMTEXT | MIDDLEINT |
| MINUTE_MICROSECOND | MINUTE_SECOND | MOD |
| MODIFIES | NATURAL | NOT |
| NO_WRITE_TO_BINLOG | NULL | NUMERIC |
| ON | OPTIMIZE | OPTION |
| OPTIONALLY | OR | ORDER |
| OUT | OUTER | OUTFILE |
| PRECISION | PRIMARY | PROCEDURE |
| PURGE | RAID0 | RANGE |
| READ | READS | REAL |
| REFERENCES | REGEXP | RELEASE |
| RENAME | REPEAT | REPLACE |
| REQUIRE | RESTRICT | RETURN |
| REVOKE | RIGHT | RLIKE |
| SCHEMA | SCHEMAS | SECOND_MICROSECOND |
| SELECT | SENSITIVE | SEPARATOR |
| SET | SHOW | SMALLINT |
| SPATIAL | SPECIFIC | SQL |
| SQLEXCEPTION | SQLSTATE | SQLWARNING |
| SQL_BIG_RESULT | SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS | SQL_SMALL_RESULT |
| SSL | STARTING | STRAIGHT_JOIN |
| TABLE | TERMINATED | THEN |
| TINYBLOB | TINYINT | TINYTEXT |
| TO | TRAILING | TRIGGER |
| TRUE | UNDO | UNION |
| UNIQUE | UNLOCK | UNSIGNED |
| UPDATE | USAGE | USE |
| USING | UTC_DATE | UTC_TIME |
| UTC_TIMESTAMP | VALUES | VARBINARY |
| VARCHAR | VARCHARACTER | VARYING |
| WHEN | WHERE | WHILE |
| WITH | WRITE | X509 |
| XOR | YEAR_MONTH | ZEROFILL |
MySQL允许部分关键字用做未引起来的识别符，因为许多人以前曾使用过它们。下面列出了一些例子：
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ACTION
BIT
DATE
ENUM
NO
TEXT
TIME
TIMESTAMP
