Error.prototype.name

The name data property of Error.prototype is shared by all {{jsxref("Error")}} instances. It represents the name for the type of error. For Error.prototype.name, the initial value is "Error". Subclasses like {{jsxref("TypeError")}} and {{jsxref("SyntaxError")}} provide their own name properties.

Value#

A string. For Error.prototype.name, the initial value is "Error".

{{js_property_attributes(1, 0, 1)}}

Description#

By default, {{jsxref("Error")}} instances are given the name "Error". The name property, in addition to the {{jsxref("Error/message", "message")}} property, is used by the {{jsxref("Error.prototype.toString()")}} method to create a string representation of the error.

Examples#

Throwing a custom error#

const e = new Error("Malformed input"); // e.name is 'Error'

e.name = "ParseError";
throw e;
// e.toString() would return 'ParseError: Malformed input'

Specifications#

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility#

{{Compat}}

See also#

• {{jsxref("Error.prototype.message")}}
• {{jsxref("Error.prototype.toString()")}}