diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/planner/QueryTranslator.java b/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/planner/QueryTranslator.java
index de529b2e4ca61..91fde8e7c4786 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/planner/QueryTranslator.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/sql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/sql/planner/QueryTranslator.java
@@ -422,9 +422,6 @@ static String nameOf(Expression e) {
         if (e instanceof NamedExpression) {
             return ((NamedExpression) e).name();
         }
-        if (e instanceof Literal) {
-            return String.valueOf(e.fold());
-        }
         throw new SqlIllegalArgumentException("Cannot determine name for {}", e);
     }