diff --git a/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/renderChartConfig.test.ts.snap b/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/renderChartConfig.test.ts.snap
index 32e82905..bf8ee1ef 100644
--- a/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/renderChartConfig.test.ts.snap
+++ b/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/__snapshots__/renderChartConfig.test.ts.snap
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig HAVING clause should not render HAVING clause when no
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig HAVING clause should render HAVING clause with SQL language 1`] = `"SELECT count(),severity FROM default.logs WHERE (timestamp >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND timestamp <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739491200000)) GROUP BY severity HAVING count(*) > 100 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"`;
 
-exports[`renderChartConfig HAVING clause should render HAVING clause with granularity and groupBy 1`] = `"SELECT count(),event_type,toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM default.events WHERE (timestamp >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND timestamp <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739491200000)) GROUP BY event_type,toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` HAVING count(*) > 50 ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"`;
+exports[`renderChartConfig HAVING clause should render HAVING clause with granularity and groupBy 1`] = `"SELECT count(),event_type,toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM default.events WHERE (timestamp >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND timestamp <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739491200000)) GROUP BY event_type,toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) HAVING count(*) > 50 ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(timestamp), INTERVAL 5 minute) SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"`;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig HAVING clause should render HAVING clause with multiple conditions 1`] = `
 "SELECT avg(
@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig k8s semantic convention migrations should generate SQ
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, \`__hdx_time_bucket2\`
           ) SELECT max(
       toFloat64OrDefault(toString(Rate))
-    ) AS \\"Value\\",toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (\`__hdx_time_bucket2\` >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND \`__hdx_time_bucket2\` <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+    ) AS \\"Value\\",toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (\`__hdx_time_bucket2\` >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND \`__hdx_time_bucket2\` <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig k8s semantic convention migrations should generate SQL with metricNameSql for k8s.pod.cpu.utilization gauge metric 1`] = `
@@ -621,7 +621,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig k8s semantic convention migrations should generate SQ
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, __hdx_time_bucket2
           ) SELECT avg(
       toFloat64OrDefault(toString(LastValue))
-    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig k8s semantic convention migrations should handle metrics without metricNameSql (backward compatibility) 1`] = `
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig k8s semantic convention migrations should handle metr
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, __hdx_time_bucket2
           ) SELECT avg(
       toFloat64OrDefault(toString(LastValue))
-    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig sample-weighted aggregations should handle complex sampleWeightExpression like SpanAttributes map access 1`] = `"SELECT sum(greatest(toUInt64OrZero(toString(SpanAttributes['SampleRate'])), 1)) FROM default.otel_traces WHERE (Timestamp >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND Timestamp <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739491200000)) SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"`;
@@ -719,7 +719,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig should generate sql for a single gauge metric 1`] = `
             FROM Source
             GROUP BY AttributesHash, __hdx_time_bucket2
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, __hdx_time_bucket2
-          ) SELECT quantile(0.95)(toFloat64OrDefault(toString(LastValue))),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+          ) SELECT quantile(0.95)(toFloat64OrDefault(toString(LastValue))),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig should generate sql for a single gauge metric with a delta() function applied 1`] = `
@@ -752,7 +752,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig should generate sql for a single gauge metric with a
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, __hdx_time_bucket2
           ) SELECT max(
       toFloat64OrDefault(toString(LastValue))
-    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+    ),toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (__hdx_time_bucket2 >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND __hdx_time_bucket2 <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(__hdx_time_bucket2), INTERVAL 1 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS short_circuit_function_evaluation = 'force_enable', optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig should generate sql for a single sum metric 1`] = `
@@ -798,7 +798,7 @@ exports[`renderChartConfig should generate sql for a single sum metric 1`] = `
             ORDER BY AttributesHash, \`__hdx_time_bucket2\`
           ) SELECT avg(
       toFloat64OrDefault(toString(Rate))
-    ) AS \\"Value\\",toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (\`__hdx_time_bucket2\` >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND \`__hdx_time_bucket2\` <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` LIMIT 10 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
+    ) AS \\"Value\\",toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) AS \`__hdx_time_bucket\` FROM Bucketed WHERE (\`__hdx_time_bucket2\` >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739318400000) AND \`__hdx_time_bucket2\` <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1765670400000)) GROUP BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) ORDER BY toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(\`__hdx_time_bucket2\`), INTERVAL 5 minute) LIMIT 10 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"
 `;
 
 exports[`renderChartConfig should not generate invalid SQL when primary key wraps toStartOfInterval 1`] = `"SELECT timestamp, cluster_id, service_id FROM default.http_request_logs WHERE (timestamp >= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739319154000) AND timestamp <= fromUnixTimestamp64Milli(1739491954000)) LIMIT 200 OFFSET 0 SETTINGS optimize_read_in_order = 0, cast_keep_nullable = 1, additional_result_filter = 'x != 2', count_distinct_implementation = 'uniqCombined64', async_insert_busy_timeout_min_ms = 20000"`;
diff --git a/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts b/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
index 640f31ab..405d3826 100644
--- a/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/common-utils/src/__tests__/utils.test.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import {
   replaceJsonExpressions,
   splitAndTrimCSV,
   splitAndTrimWithBracket,
+  stripTrailingAlias,
 } from '../core/utils';
 
 describe('utils', () => {
@@ -252,6 +253,26 @@ describe('utils', () => {
     });
   });
 
+  describe('stripTrailingAlias', () => {
+    it('removes trailing AS alias from top-level expression', () => {
+      expect(
+        stripTrailingAlias(
+          'toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(TimestampTime), INTERVAL 1 minute) AS `__hdx_time_bucket`',
+        ),
+      ).toBe('toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(TimestampTime), INTERVAL 1 minute)');
+    });
+
+    it('preserves expressions that have no trailing alias', () => {
+      expect(stripTrailingAlias('TimestampTime')).toBe('TimestampTime');
+    });
+
+    it('does not remove nested aliases inside parentheses', () => {
+      expect(
+        stripTrailingAlias('coalesce((SELECT x AS y), 0) AS final_value'),
+      ).toBe('coalesce((SELECT x AS y), 0)');
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('getFirstOrderingItem', () => {
     it('should return undefined for undefined input', () => {
       expect(getFirstOrderingItem(undefined)).toBeUndefined();
diff --git a/packages/common-utils/src/core/renderChartConfig.ts b/packages/common-utils/src/core/renderChartConfig.ts
index 5250aada..079ec1f5 100644
--- a/packages/common-utils/src/core/renderChartConfig.ts
+++ b/packages/common-utils/src/core/renderChartConfig.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
   optimizeTimestampValueExpression,
   parseToStartOfFunction,
   splitAndTrimWithBracket,
+  stripTrailingAlias,
 } from '@/core/utils';
 import { isBuilderChartConfig, isRawSqlChartConfig } from '@/guards';
 import { replaceMacros } from '@/macros';
@@ -614,9 +615,30 @@ function timeBucketExpr({
   timestampValueExpression: string;
   dateRange?: [Date, Date];
   alias?: string;
+}) {
+  const bucketExpression = timeBucketExprSql({
+    interval,
+    timestampValueExpression,
+    dateRange,
+  });
+  return chSql`${bucketExpression} AS \`${{
+    UNSAFE_RAW_SQL: alias,
+  }}\``;
+}
+
+function timeBucketExprSql({
+  interval,
+  timestampValueExpression,
+  dateRange,
+}: {
+  interval: SQLInterval | 'auto';
+  timestampValueExpression: string;
+  dateRange?: [Date, Date];
 }) {
   const unsafeTimestampValueExpression = {
-    UNSAFE_RAW_SQL: getFirstTimestampValueExpression(timestampValueExpression),
+    UNSAFE_RAW_SQL: stripTrailingAlias(
+      getFirstTimestampValueExpression(timestampValueExpression),
+    ),
   };
   const unsafeInterval = {
     UNSAFE_RAW_SQL:
@@ -625,9 +647,7 @@ function timeBucketExpr({
         : interval,
   };
 
-  return chSql`toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(${unsafeTimestampValueExpression}), INTERVAL ${unsafeInterval}) AS \`${{
-    UNSAFE_RAW_SQL: alias,
-  }}\``;
+  return chSql`toStartOfInterval(toDateTime(${unsafeTimestampValueExpression}), INTERVAL ${unsafeInterval})`;
 }
 
 export async function timeFilterExpr({
@@ -680,7 +700,7 @@ export async function timeFilterExpr({
 
   const whereExprs = await Promise.all(
     valueExpressions.map(async expr => {
-      const col = expr.trim();
+      const col = stripTrailingAlias(expr.trim());
 
       // If the expression includes a toStartOf...(...) function, the RHS of the
       // timestamp comparison must also have the same function
@@ -976,7 +996,7 @@ async function renderGroupBy(
       ? await renderSelectList(chartConfig.groupBy, chartConfig, metadata)
       : [],
     isUsingGranularity(chartConfig)
-      ? timeBucketExpr({
+      ? timeBucketExprSql({
           interval: chartConfig.granularity,
           timestampValueExpression: chartConfig.timestampValueExpression,
           dateRange: chartConfig.dateRange,
@@ -1016,7 +1036,7 @@ function renderOrderBy(
   return concatChSql(
     ',',
     isIncludingTimeBucket
-      ? timeBucketExpr({
+      ? timeBucketExprSql({
           interval: chartConfig.granularity,
           timestampValueExpression: chartConfig.timestampValueExpression,
           dateRange: chartConfig.dateRange,
diff --git a/packages/common-utils/src/core/utils.ts b/packages/common-utils/src/core/utils.ts
index 362f438e..1369b209 100644
--- a/packages/common-utils/src/core/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/common-utils/src/core/utils.ts
@@ -96,7 +96,81 @@ export function splitAndTrimWithBracket(input: string): string[] {
 // If a user specifies a timestampValueExpression with multiple columns,
 // this will return the first one. We'll want to refine this over time
 export function getFirstTimestampValueExpression(valueExpression: string) {
-  return splitAndTrimWithBracket(valueExpression)[0];
+  const firstExpression = splitAndTrimWithBracket(valueExpression)[0];
+  return firstExpression
+    ? stripTrailingAlias(firstExpression)
+    : firstExpression;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Removes a trailing SQL alias from a single expression, e.g.
+ * `toStartOfInterval(ts, INTERVAL 1 minute) AS bucket` -> `toStartOfInterval(ts, INTERVAL 1 minute)`.
+ * Keeps interior aliases untouched by only stripping the last top-level alias token.
+ */
+export function stripTrailingAlias(valueExpression: string): string {
+  const expression = valueExpression.trim();
+  if (!expression) return expression;
+
+  let parenCount = 0;
+  let squareCount = 0;
+  let inSingleQuote = false;
+  let inDoubleQuote = false;
+  let inBacktick = false;
+  let aliasSplitIndex: number | undefined;
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < expression.length; i++) {
+    const c = expression[i];
+    const prev = i > 0 ? expression[i - 1] : '';
+
+    if (c === "'" && !inDoubleQuote && !inBacktick && prev !== '\\') {
+      inSingleQuote = !inSingleQuote;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (c === '"' && !inSingleQuote && !inBacktick && prev !== '\\') {
+      inDoubleQuote = !inDoubleQuote;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (c === '`' && !inSingleQuote && !inDoubleQuote && prev !== '\\') {
+      inBacktick = !inBacktick;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (inSingleQuote || inDoubleQuote || inBacktick) continue;
+
+    if (c === '(') {
+      parenCount++;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (c === ')') {
+      parenCount--;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (c === '[') {
+      squareCount++;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (c === ']') {
+      squareCount--;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    if (parenCount === 0 && squareCount === 0) {
+      if (/\s/.test(c)) {
+        let j = i;
+        while (j < expression.length && /\s/.test(expression[j])) j++;
+        if (
+          expression.slice(j, j + 2).toUpperCase() === 'AS' &&
+          j + 2 < expression.length &&
+          /\s/.test(expression[j + 2])
+        ) {
+          aliasSplitIndex = i;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return aliasSplitIndex == null
+    ? expression
+    : expression.slice(0, aliasSplitIndex).trim();
 }
 
 /** Returns true if the given expression is a JSON expression, eg. `col.key.nestedKey` or "json_col"."key" */