diff --git a/src/main/engine/MediaEngine.ts b/src/main/engine/MediaEngine.ts
index b27a888..a2cf048 100644
--- a/src/main/engine/MediaEngine.ts
+++ b/src/main/engine/MediaEngine.ts
@@ -958,6 +958,7 @@ export class MediaEngine extends EventEmitter {
                 size: stats.size,
                 width: metadata.width,
                 height: metadata.height,
+                title: metadata.title,
                 alt: metadata.alt,
                 caption: metadata.caption,
                 filePath: mediaFilePath,
@@ -973,6 +974,7 @@ export class MediaEngine extends EventEmitter {
                 id: metadata.id,
                 projectId: this.currentProjectId,
                 originalName: metadata.originalName,
+                title: metadata.title,
                 alt: metadata.alt,
                 caption: metadata.caption,
                 tags: metadata.tags,
diff --git a/src/renderer/components/Editor/Editor.tsx b/src/renderer/components/Editor/Editor.tsx
index d939103..698cc18 100644
--- a/src/renderer/components/Editor/Editor.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/components/Editor/Editor.tsx
@@ -18,6 +18,11 @@ import { parseMacros, getMacro } from '../../macros/registry';
 import { InsertModal } from '../InsertModal';
 import './Editor.css';
 
+/** Get display name for media: prefer title over originalName */
+function getMediaDisplayName(media: { title?: string; originalName: string }): string {
+  return media.title || media.originalName;
+}
+
 // Module-level AutoSaveManager for idle-time based auto-saving
 const autoSaveManager = new AutoSaveManager({
   idleTimeMs: 3000, // Save after 3 seconds of idle time
@@ -207,7 +212,7 @@ const hydrateGalleries = async (
           <img 
             src="bds-media://${link.media.id}" 
             alt="${link.media.alt || link.media.originalName}" 
-            title="${link.media.originalName}"
+            title="${link.media.title || link.media.originalName}"
           />
         </div>
       `).join('');
@@ -558,7 +563,7 @@ function buildMonthGallery(
             <img 
               src="bds-media://${img.id}" 
               alt="${img.alt || img.originalName}" 
-              title="${img.originalName}"
+              title="${img.title || img.originalName}"
             />
           </div>
         `).join('')}
@@ -976,7 +981,7 @@ const PostEditor: React.FC<PostEditorProps> = ({ postId }) => {
           if (mediaItem) {
             references.push({
               id: mediaItem.id,
-              title: mediaItem.originalName,
+              title: getMediaDisplayName(mediaItem),
               type: 'media',
             });
           }
@@ -1642,7 +1647,7 @@ const MediaEditor: React.FC<{ mediaId: string }> = ({ mediaId }) => {
       // Show confirmation modal
       showConfirmDeleteModal({
         itemType: 'media',
-        itemTitle: item.originalName,
+        itemTitle: getMediaDisplayName(item),
         references,
         onConfirm: async () => {
           try {
@@ -1676,7 +1681,7 @@ const MediaEditor: React.FC<{ mediaId: string }> = ({ mediaId }) => {
       <div className="editor-header">
         <div className="editor-tabs">
           <div className="editor-tab active">
-            <span className="editor-tab-title">{item.originalName}</span>
+            <span className="editor-tab-title">{getMediaDisplayName(item)}</span>
           </div>
         </div>
         <div className="editor-actions">
diff --git a/tests/engine/MediaEngine.test.ts b/tests/engine/MediaEngine.test.ts
index 22c1891..b7f5458 100644
--- a/tests/engine/MediaEngine.test.ts
+++ b/tests/engine/MediaEngine.test.ts
@@ -774,6 +774,43 @@ linkedPostIds: ["post-a", "post-b", "post-c"]`;
       expect(postMediaInserts[1].sortOrder).toBe(1);
       expect(postMediaInserts[2].sortOrder).toBe(2);
     });
+
+    it('should restore title from sidecar metadata during rebuild', async () => {
+      const fs = await import('fs/promises');
+
+      vi.mocked(fs.readdir).mockImplementation(async (dir: string, options?: any) => {
+        if (typeof dir === 'string' && dir.includes('media')) {
+          return [
+            { name: 'media-1.jpg', isFile: () => true, isDirectory: () => false },
+            { name: 'media-1.jpg.meta', isFile: () => true, isDirectory: () => false },
+          ] as any;
+        }
+        return [];
+      });
+
+      // Sidecar with title field
+      const sidecarContent = `id: media-1
+originalName: test-image.jpg
+mimeType: image/jpeg
+size: 1024
+title: My Beautiful Sunset Photo
+alt: A sunset over the ocean
+caption: Taken during vacation
+createdAt: 2024-01-15T10:00:00.000Z
+updatedAt: 2024-01-15T10:00:00.000Z
+tags: ["nature", "sunset"]`;
+      mockFiles.set('/mock/userData/projects/test-project/media/media-1.jpg.meta', sidecarContent);
+      mockFiles.set('/mock/userData/projects/test-project/media/media-1.jpg', Buffer.from('image-data'));
+
+      await mediaEngine.rebuildDatabaseFromFiles();
+
+      // Verify title is stored in database
+      const insertedMedia = mockMedia.get('media-1');
+      expect(insertedMedia).toBeDefined();
+      expect(insertedMedia.title).toBe('My Beautiful Sunset Photo');
+      expect(insertedMedia.alt).toBe('A sunset over the ocean');
+      expect(insertedMedia.caption).toBe('Taken during vacation');
+    });
   });
 
   describe('Full-Text Search', () => {