diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/ui/view-tools.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/ui/view-tools.js
index f503beecb..22cb1eecd 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/ui/view-tools.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/ui/view-tools.js
@@ -1102,18 +1102,27 @@ RED.view.tools = (function() {
                     const paletteLabel = RED.utils.getPaletteLabel(n.type, nodeDef)
                     const defaultNodeNameRE = new RegExp('^'+paletteLabel.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&')+' (\\d+)$')
                     if (!typeIndex.hasOwnProperty(n.type)) {
-                        const existingNodes = RED.nodes.filterNodes({type: n.type})
-                        let maxNameNumber = 0;
-                        existingNodes.forEach(n => {
-                            let match = defaultNodeNameRE.exec(n.name)
+                        const existingNodes = RED.nodes.filterNodes({ type: n.type });
+                        const existingIds = existingNodes.reduce((ids, node) => {
+                            let match = defaultNodeNameRE.exec(node.name);
                             if (match) {
-                                let nodeNumber = parseInt(match[1])
-                                if (nodeNumber > maxNameNumber) {
-                                    maxNameNumber = nodeNumber
+                                const nodeNumber = parseInt(match[1], 10);
+                                if (!ids.includes(nodeNumber)) {
+                                    ids.push(nodeNumber);
                                 }
                             }
-                        })
-                        typeIndex[n.type] = maxNameNumber + 1
+                            return ids;
+                        }, []).sort((a, b) => a - b);
+
+                        let availableNameNumber = 1;
+                        for (let i = 0; i < existingIds.length; i++) {
+                            if (existingIds[i] !== availableNameNumber) {
+                                break;
+                            }
+                            availableNameNumber++;
+                        }
+
+                        typeIndex[n.type] = availableNameNumber;
                     }
                     if ((options.renameBlank && n.name === '') || (options.renameClash && defaultNodeNameRE.test(n.name))) {
                         if (generateHistory) {