diff --git a/Expat/Expat.xs b/Expat/Expat.xs
index 7b7b5ec..b91bc88 100644
--- a/Expat/Expat.xs
+++ b/Expat/Expat.xs
@@ -507,6 +507,7 @@ startElement(void *userData, const char *name, const char **atts)
 
       ENTER;
       SAVETMPS;
+      SAVEFREESV(elname);
 
       PUSHMARK(sp);
       EXTEND(sp, attlim - atts + 2);
@@ -518,7 +519,7 @@ startElement(void *userData, const char *name, const char **atts)
 
 	  attname = (do_ns ? gen_ns_name(*atts, cbv->nstab, cbv->nslst)
 		     : newUTF8SVpv((char *) *atts, 0));
-	    
+
 	  atts++;
 	  PUSHs(sv_2mortal(attname));
 	  if (*atts)
@@ -527,6 +528,7 @@ startElement(void *userData, const char *name, const char **atts)
       PUTBACK;
       call_sv(cbv->start_sv, G_DISCARD|G_VOID);
 
+      SvREFCNT_inc_simple_void(elname);
       FREETMPS;
       LEAVE;
     }
@@ -555,6 +557,7 @@ endElement(void *userData, const char *name)
     {
       ENTER;
       SAVETMPS;
+      SAVEFREESV(elname);
 
       PUSHMARK(sp);
       EXTEND(sp, 2);
@@ -563,6 +566,7 @@ endElement(void *userData, const char *name)
       PUTBACK;
       call_sv(cbv->end_sv, G_DISCARD|G_VOID);
 
+      SvREFCNT_inc_simple_void(elname);
       FREETMPS;
       LEAVE;
     }
diff --git a/t/handler_die.t b/t/handler_die.t
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93af11a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/handler_die.t
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+#!/usr/bin/perl
+
+# Test that handler exceptions don't leak SVs.
+# When a Start or End handler dies, the parser should propagate
+# the exception cleanly without leaking the element name SV.
+
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+
+use Test::More tests => 6;
+use XML::Parser;
+
+my $xml = '<root><child>text</child></root>';
+
+# Test 1-2: Start handler die propagates and parser remains usable
+{
+    my $p = XML::Parser->new(
+        Handlers => {
+            Start => sub {
+                my ($expat, $el) = @_;
+                die "start handler died on $el" if $el eq 'child';
+            },
+        },
+    );
+
+    eval { $p->parse($xml) };
+    like($@, qr/start handler died on child/, 'Start handler die propagates');
+
+    # Parser should be reusable after exception
+    my $ok_xml = '<simple/>';
+    eval { $p->parse($ok_xml) };
+    is($@, '', 'parser reusable after Start handler die');
+}
+
+# Test 3-4: End handler die propagates and parser remains usable
+{
+    my $p = XML::Parser->new(
+        Handlers => {
+            End => sub {
+                my ($expat, $el) = @_;
+                die "end handler died on $el" if $el eq 'child';
+            },
+        },
+    );
+
+    eval { $p->parse($xml) };
+    like($@, qr/end handler died on child/, 'End handler die propagates');
+
+    my $ok_xml = '<simple/>';
+    eval { $p->parse($ok_xml) };
+    is($@, '', 'parser reusable after End handler die');
+}
+
+# Test 5-6: Multiple parse cycles with dying handlers don't accumulate leaks
+{
+    my $die_count = 0;
+    my $p = XML::Parser->new(
+        Handlers => {
+            Start => sub {
+                my ($expat, $el) = @_;
+                if ($el eq 'boom') {
+                    $die_count++;
+                    die "boom #$die_count";
+                }
+            },
+        },
+    );
+
+    my $boom_xml = '<root><boom/></root>';
+    for my $i (1..10) {
+        eval { $p->parse($boom_xml) };
+    }
+    is($die_count, 10, 'all 10 parse attempts triggered the handler');
+
+    # If SVs leaked, this would still work but would have accumulated
+    # leaked SVs. We can't easily check refcounts, but we verify the
+    # parser still works correctly after many exception cycles.
+    my $chardata = '';
+    $p = XML::Parser->new(
+        Handlers => {
+            Char => sub { $chardata .= $_[1] },
+        },
+    );
+    $p->parse('<r>ok</r>');
+    is($chardata, 'ok', 'fresh parser works after exception stress test');
+}