This statement sets the three session system variables character_set_client, character_set_connection, and character_set_results to the given character set. Setting character_set_connection to charset_name also sets collation_connection to the default collation for charset_name. See Section 10.4, “Connection Character Sets and Collations”.

The optional COLLATE clause may be used to specify a collation explicitly. If given, the collation must one of the permitted collations for charset_name.

charset_name and collation_name may be quoted or unquoted.

The default mapping can be restored by using a value of DEFAULT. The default depends on the server configuration.

Some character sets cannot be used as the client character set. Attempting to use them with SET NAMES produces an error. See Impermissible Client Character Sets.