diff --git a/.idea/inspectionProfiles/Project_Default.xml b/.idea/inspectionProfiles/Project_Default.xml
index 350617d4d9da3..36f825c11d71f 100644
--- a/.idea/inspectionProfiles/Project_Default.xml
+++ b/.idea/inspectionProfiles/Project_Default.xml
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 <component name="InspectionProjectProfileManager">
   <profile version="1.0">
     <option name="myName" value="Project Default" />
+    <inspection_tool class="DataFlowIssue" enabled="true" level="WARNING" enabled_by_default="true">
+      <scope name="Tests" level="INFORMATION" enabled="true" editorAttributes="INFORMATION_ATTRIBUTES">
+        <option name="SUGGEST_NULLABLE_ANNOTATIONS" value="true" />
+        <option name="DONT_REPORT_TRUE_ASSERT_STATEMENTS" value="false" />
+      </scope>
+      <option name="SUGGEST_NULLABLE_ANNOTATIONS" value="true" />
+      <option name="DONT_REPORT_TRUE_ASSERT_STATEMENTS" value="false" />
+    </inspection_tool>
     <inspection_tool class="GroovyPointlessBoolean" enabled="false" level="WARNING" enabled_by_default="false" />
     <inspection_tool class="IllegalDependencyOnInternalPackage" enabled="true" level="ERROR" enabled_by_default="false">
       <scope name="Production" level="ERROR" enabled="false" />
diff --git a/docs/changelog/140019.yaml b/docs/changelog/140019.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..ef56e2d84bc3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog/140019.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+pr: 140019
+summary: Adds `GroupedTopN` ESQL parsing and planning
+area: ES|QL
+type: feature
+issues: []
diff --git a/server/src/main/resources/transport/definitions/referable/esql_limit_by.csv b/server/src/main/resources/transport/definitions/referable/esql_limit_by.csv
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..04beeb8a80d86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/main/resources/transport/definitions/referable/esql_limit_by.csv
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+9314000
diff --git a/server/src/main/resources/transport/upper_bounds/9.4.csv b/server/src/main/resources/transport/upper_bounds/9.4.csv
index 9a0ef62c71602..39804535ee10f 100644
--- a/server/src/main/resources/transport/upper_bounds/9.4.csv
+++ b/server/src/main/resources/transport/upper_bounds/9.4.csv
@@ -1 +1 @@
-sql_optional_allow_partial_search_results,9313000
+esql_limit_by,9314000
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/qa/testFixtures/src/main/resources/topN.csv-spec b/x-pack/plugin/esql/qa/testFixtures/src/main/resources/topN.csv-spec
index 01de025535a39..df351ac9bf9f4 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/qa/testFixtures/src/main/resources/topN.csv-spec
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/qa/testFixtures/src/main/resources/topN.csv-spec
@@ -185,3 +185,979 @@ network.bytes_in:long | @timestamp:datetime      | cluster:keyword | pod:keyword
 1007                  | 2024-05-10T00:19:48.000Z | prod            | two
 1006                  | 2024-05-10T00:13:50.000Z | qa              | one
 ;
+
+sortByLimit
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultiColumn
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages, gender
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, gender DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5                 | M
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5                 | F
+Patricio           | Bridgland         | 48942          | 5                 | null
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4                 | M
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4                 | F
+Duangkaew          | Piveteau          | 45797          | 4                 | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3                 | M
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3                 | F
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2                 | M
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2                 | F
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2                 | null
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1                 | M
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1                 | F
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1                 | null
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null              | M
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null              | F
+;
+
+sortByLimitQualifiedName
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY [employees].[languages], [employees].[gender]
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, gender DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5                 | M
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5                 | F
+Patricio           | Bridgland         | 48942          | 5                 | null
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4                 | M
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4                 | F
+Duangkaew          | Piveteau          | 45797          | 4                 | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3                 | M
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3                 | F
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2                 | M
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2                 | F
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2                 | null
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1                 | M
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1                 | F
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1                 | null
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null              | M
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null              | F
+;
+
+sortByLimitIsIdempotent
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC, first_name, last_name
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitThenSortByLimit
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitZero
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 0 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+;
+
+sortLimitThenSortByLimit
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 10
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitThenLimit
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| SORT languages ASC nulls last, salary ASC
+| LIMIT 10
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Valdiodio          | Niizuma           | 25976          | 1
+Tuval              | Kalloufi          | 28035          | 1
+Yishay             | Tzvieli           | 34341          | 1
+Vishv              | Zockler           | 39110          | 1
+Mingsen            | Casley            | 39728          | 1
+Breannda           | Billingsley       | 29175          | 2
+Kshitij            | Gils              | 32263          | 2
+Brendon            | Bernini           | 33370          | 2
+null               | Brender           | 36051          | 2
+null               | Makrucki          | 37691          | 2
+;
+
+sortByLimitNullsFirst
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT is_rehired ASC NULLS FIRST
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages
+| SORT languages ASC NULLS FIRST, is_rehired ASC, first_name, last_name
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, languages, is_rehired
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | languages:integer | is_rehired:boolean
+Mayuko             | Warwick           | null              | [false, true, true]
+Shahaf             | Famili            | null              | [false, true]
+Sumant             | Peac              | 1                 | null
+Uri                | Lenart            | 1                 | null
+Georgi             | Facello           | 2                 | [false, true]
+Saniya             | Kalloufi          | 2                 | [false, true]
+Anneke             | Preusig           | 3                 | null
+Magy               | Stamatiou         | 3                 | null
+Parto              | Bamford           | 4                 | null
+null               | Lortz             | 4                 | null
+Basil              | Tramer            | 5                 | null
+Berni              | Genin             | 5                 | null        
+;
+
+sortByLimitNullsLast
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT is_rehired ASC NULLS LAST
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages
+| SORT languages ASC NULLS LAST, is_rehired ASC, first_name, last_name
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, languages, is_rehired
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | languages:integer | is_rehired:boolean
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 1                 | [false, false, false, true]
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 1                 | [false, false]
+Georgi             | Facello           | 2                 | [false, true]
+Saniya             | Kalloufi          | 2                 | [false, true]
+null               | Demeyer           | 3                 | [false, false, true]
+null               | Reistad           | 3                 | [false, false]
+Duangkaew          | Piveteau          | 4                 | [false, false, true, true]
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 4                 | [false, false, true, true]
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 5                 | [false, false]
+Patricio           | Bridgland         | 5                 | [false, false, true, true]
+Mayuko             | Warwick           | null              | [false, true, true]
+Shahaf             | Famili            | null              | [false, true]          
+;
+
+sortByLimitNoSortAfter
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultiplePerGroupNoSortAfter
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultiColumnNoSortAfter
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages, gender
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages, gender
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null              | M
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3                 | M
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4                 | F
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null              | F
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1                 | null
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2                 | F
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1                 | M
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5                 | F
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1                 | F
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4                 | M
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3                 | F
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2                 | null
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2                 | M
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5                 | M
+Patricio           | Bridgland         | 48942          | 5                 | null
+Duangkaew          | Piveteau          | 45797          | 4                 | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitByGenderNoSortAfter
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY gender
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, gender
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | gender:keyword
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | M
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | F
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | null
+;
+
+sortLimitThenSortByLimitNoSortAfter
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 10
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+;
+
+sortByLimitExpression
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitMixed
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages, gender
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5                 | F
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5                 | F
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5                 | M
+Georgy             | Dredge            | 49281          | 5                 | M
+Patricio           | Bridgland         | 48942          | 5                 | null
+Berni              | Genin             | 37137          | 5                 | null
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4                 | F
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4                 | F
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4                 | M
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4                 | M
+Duangkaew          | Piveteau          | 45797          | 4                 | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3                 | M
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3                 | M
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3                 | F
+null               | Reistad           | 62233          | 3                 | F
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2                 | F
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2                 | F
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2                 | null
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2                 | null
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2                 | M
+Claudi             | Stavenow          | 52044          | 2                 | M
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1                 | null
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1                 | M
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1                 | M
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1                 | F
+Uri                | Lenart            | 56415          | 1                 | F
+Eberhardt          | Terkki            | 48735          | 1                 | null
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null              | M
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null              | F
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null              | F
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null              | M
+;
+
+sortByLimitByConstant
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY 20 * 5, 10
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+;
+
+sortByLimitMixedFoldableAndAttribute
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages, 42
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitMixedFoldableAndExpression
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, 42
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitSeveralSorts
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer
+Arumugam           | Ossenbruggen      | 66817          | 5
+Bezalel            | Simmel            | 56371          | 5
+Hironoby           | Sidou             | 54518          | 5
+Premal             | Baek              | 52833          | 5
+Gao                | Dolinsky          | 51956          | 5
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4
+Hironobu           | Haraldson         | 68431          | 4
+Mayumi             | Schueller         | 65367          | 4
+Parto              | Bamford           | 61805          | 4
+null               | Portugali         | 60781          | 4
+Moss               | Shanbhogue        | 74970          | 3
+Remzi              | Waschkowski       | 71165          | 3
+null               | Demeyer           | 67492          | 3
+Anoosh             | Peyn              | 65030          | 3
+Erez               | Ritzmann          | 62405          | 3
+Valter             | Sullins           | 73578          | 2
+Danel              | Mondadori         | 69904          | 2
+Kazuhito           | Cappelletti       | 61358          | 2
+Cristinel          | Bouloucos         | 58715          | 2
+Georgi             | Facello           | 57305          | 2
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1
+null               | Merlo             | 70011          | 1
+Somnath            | Foote             | 68547          | 1
+Sumant             | Peac              | 66174          | 1
+Kyoichi            | Maliniak          | 63528          | 1
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null
+Divier             | Reistad           | 73851          | null
+Suzette            | Pettey            | 64675          | null
+Ramzi              | Erde              | 60408          | null
+Shahaf             | Famili            | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitNonContiguousSorts
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| KEEP emp_no, salary, languages
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| KEEP emp_no, salary, languages
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | salary:integer | languages:integer
+10094             | 66817          | 5
+10002             | 56371          | 5
+10072             | 54518          | 5
+10080             | 52833          | 5
+10075             | 51956          | 5
+10007             | 74572          | 4
+10100             | 68431          | 4
+10054             | 65367          | 4
+10003             | 61805          | 4
+10036             | 60781          | 4
+10045             | 74970          | 3
+10097             | 71165          | 3
+10030             | 67492          | 3
+10062             | 65030          | 3
+10076             | 62405          | 3
+10099             | 73578          | 2
+10078             | 69904          | 2
+10016             | 61358          | 2
+10017             | 58715          | 2
+10001             | 57305          | 2
+10019             | 73717          | 1
+10033             | 70011          | 1
+10086             | 68547          | 1
+10009             | 66174          | 1
+10005             | 63528          | 1
+10029             | 74999          | null
+10027             | 73851          | null
+10024             | 64675          | null
+10021             | 60408          | null
+10022             | 48233          | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitEvalAndNonEvalGroupings
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| KEEP emp_no, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 3 BY languages * 2, gender
+| SORT languages DESC nulls last, gender DESC nulls last, salary DESC
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+10080          | 52833          | 5                 | M
+10055          | 49281          | 5                 | M
+10077          | 46595          | 5                 | M
+10094          | 66817          | 5                 | F
+10002          | 56371          | 5                 | F
+10072          | 54518          | 5                 | F
+10012          | 48942          | 5                 | null
+10014          | 37137          | 5                 | null
+10011          | 31120          | 5                 | null
+10054          | 65367          | 4                 | M
+10003          | 61805          | 4                 | M
+10036          | 60781          | 4                 | M
+10007          | 74572          | 4                 | F
+10100          | 68431          | 4                 | F
+10098          | 44817          | 4                 | F
+10010          | 45797          | 4                 | null
+10045          | 74970          | 3                 | M
+10097          | 71165          | 3                 | M
+10030          | 67492          | 3                 | M
+10076          | 62405          | 3                 | F
+10032          | 62233          | 3                 | F
+10006          | 60335          | 3                 | F
+10001          | 57305          | 2                 | M
+10067          | 52044          | 2                 | M
+10065          | 50249          | 2                 | M
+10099          | 73578          | 2                 | F
+10078          | 69904          | 2                 | F
+10059          | 44307          | 2                 | F
+10016          | 61358          | 2                 | null
+10017          | 58715          | 2                 | null
+10018          | 56760          | 2                 | null
+10033          | 70011          | 1                 | M
+10086          | 68547          | 1                 | M
+10005          | 63528          | 1                 | M
+10009          | 66174          | 1                 | F
+10041          | 56415          | 1                 | F
+10044          | 39728          | 1                 | F
+10019          | 73717          | 1                 | null
+10013          | 48735          | 1                 | null
+10029          | 74999          | null              | M
+10021          | 60408          | null              | M
+10022          | 48233          | null              | M
+10027          | 73851          | null              | F
+10024          | 64675          | null              | F
+10023          | 47896          | null              | F
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKeySimple
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+| SORT x DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY g
+| SORT g ASC
+| KEEP x, g
+;
+
+x:integer | g:integer
+1         | [10, 20, 30]
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKeySimpleFiltered
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+| SORT x DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY g
+| WHERE g == 20
+| KEEP x, g
+;
+warning:Line 4:9: evaluation of [g == 20] failed, treating result as null. Only first 20 failures recorded.
+warning:Line 4:9: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: single-value function encountered multi-value
+
+x:integer | g:integer
+;
+
+sortByLimitTwoMultivalueGroupKeysSimple
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+ROW x = 1, g1 = [1, 2], g2 = [10, 20]
+| SORT x DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY g1, g2
+| KEEP x, g1, g2
+| SORT g1 ASC, g2 ASC
+;
+
+x:integer | g1:integer | g2:integer
+1         | [1, 2]     | [10, 20]
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKey
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10002, 10006)
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY job_positions
+| SORT emp_no, job_positions ASC
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, salary, job_positions
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | salary:integer | job_positions:keyword
+10001          | Georgi             | 57305          | [Accountant, Senior Python Developer]
+10002          | Bezalel            | 56371          | [Senior Team Lead]
+10006          | Anneke             | 60335          | [Principal Support Engineer, Senior Team Lead, Tech Lead]
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKeyFiltered
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10002, 10006)
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY job_positions
+| WHERE job_positions == "Senior Team Lead"
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, salary, job_positions
+;
+warningRegex:Line 5:9: evaluation of \[job_positions == \\\"Senior Team Lead\\\"\] failed, treating result as null. Only first 20 failures recorded.
+warningRegex:Line 5:9: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: single-value function encountered multi-value
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | salary:integer | job_positions:keyword
+10002          | Bezalel            | 56371          | Senior Team Lead
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKeyWithCompetition
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10008)
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY job_positions
+| SORT emp_no, job_positions ASC
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, salary, job_positions
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | salary:integer | job_positions:keyword
+10001          | Georgi             | 57305          | [Accountant, Senior Python Developer]
+10008          | Saniya             | 43906          | [Internship, Junior Developer, Purchase Manager, Senior Python Developer]
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultipleMultivalueGroupKeys
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no == 10001
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY job_positions, is_rehired
+| SORT job_positions ASC, is_rehired ASC
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, salary, job_positions, is_rehired
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | salary:integer | job_positions:keyword                 | is_rehired:boolean
+10001          | Georgi             | 57305          | [Accountant, Senior Python Developer] | [false, true]
+;
+
+sortByLimitMultivalueGroupKeyLimit2
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10006, 10008)
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 2 BY job_positions
+| SORT job_positions ASC, salary DESC
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, salary, job_positions
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | salary:integer | job_positions:keyword
+10001          | Georgi             | 57305          | [Accountant, Senior Python Developer]
+10008          | Saniya             | 43906          | [Internship, Junior Developer, Purchase Manager, Senior Python Developer]
+10006          | Anneke             | 60335          | [Principal Support Engineer, Senior Team Lead, Tech Lead]
+;
+
+//
+// LIMIT BY without SORT
+//
+
+limitByNoSort
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10002, 10003, 10005, 10006)
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| SORT emp_no
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, languages
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | languages:integer
+10001          | Georgi             | 2
+10002          | Bezalel            | 5
+10003          | Parto              | 4
+10005          | Kyoichi            | 1
+10006          | Anneke             | 3
+;
+
+limitByNoSortCounts
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages
+| STATS c = COUNT(*) BY languages
+| SORT languages ASC NULLS LAST
+;
+
+c:long | languages:integer
+2      | 1
+2      | 2
+2      | 3
+2      | 4
+2      | 5
+2      | null
+;
+
+limitByNoSortLimit0
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10002, 10003)
+| LIMIT 0 BY languages
+| SORT emp_no
+| KEEP emp_no, languages
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | languages:integer
+;
+
+limitByNoSortMultipleColumns
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10003, 10004, 10007)
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages, gender
+| SORT emp_no
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, languages, gender
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+10001          | Georgi             | 2                 | M
+10003          | Parto              | 4                 | M
+10004          | Chirstian          | 5                 | M
+10007          | Tzvetan            | 4                 | F
+;
+
+limitByNoSortWithExpression
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10002, 10003, 10004, 10005)
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2
+| SORT emp_no
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, languages
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | languages:integer
+10001          | Georgi             | 2
+10002          | Bezalel            | 5
+10003          | Parto              | 4
+10004          | Chirstian          | 5
+10005          | Kyoichi            | 1
+;
+
+limitByNoSortMultivalueGroupKey
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10008)
+| LIMIT 5 BY job_positions
+| SORT emp_no, job_positions ASC
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, job_positions
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | job_positions:keyword
+10001          | Georgi             | [Accountant, Senior Python Developer]
+10008          | Saniya             | [Internship, Junior Developer, Purchase Manager, Senior Python Developer]
+;
+
+limitByNoSortNullGroup
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| WHERE emp_no IN (10001, 10020)
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
+| SORT emp_no
+| KEEP emp_no, first_name, languages
+;
+
+emp_no:integer | first_name:keyword | languages:integer
+10001          | Georgi             | 2
+10020          | Mayuko             | null
+;
+
+sortByLimitThenLimitByDifferentGrouping
+required_capability: limit_by
+
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY languages
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 1 BY gender
+| KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT gender DESC nulls last
+;
+
+first_name:keyword | last_name:keyword | salary:integer | languages:integer | gender:keyword
+Otmar              | Herbst            | 74999          | null              | M
+Tzvetan            | Zielinski         | 74572          | 4                 | F
+Lillian            | Haddadi           | 73717          | 1                 | null
+;
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/action/EsqlCapabilities.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/action/EsqlCapabilities.java
index b2ae65fa918d2..b52b1db6fe5b5 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/action/EsqlCapabilities.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/action/EsqlCapabilities.java
@@ -2205,6 +2205,12 @@ public enum Cap {
          */
         EXTERNAL_COMMAND(Build.current().isSnapshot()),
 
+        /**
+
+         * Enables LIMIT N BY in the LIMIT command, both with and without a preceding SORT.
+         */
+        LIMIT_BY,
+
         /**
          * https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/142219
          */
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Analyzer.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Analyzer.java
index 007c2f545aba8..8fa508b58ab85 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Analyzer.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Analyzer.java
@@ -1911,7 +1911,8 @@ private InferenceFunction<?> resolveInferenceFunction(InferenceFunction<?> infer
     private static class AddImplicitLimit extends ParameterizedRule<LogicalPlan, LogicalPlan, AnalyzerContext> {
         @Override
         public LogicalPlan apply(LogicalPlan logicalPlan, AnalyzerContext context) {
-            List<LogicalPlan> limits = logicalPlan.collectFirstChildren(Limit.class::isInstance);
+            // Find existing LIMITs without groups. Groups are unbounded, and they still require another default LIMIT
+            List<LogicalPlan> limits = logicalPlan.collectFirstChildren(lp -> lp instanceof Limit l && l.groupings().isEmpty());
             // We check whether the query contains a TimeSeriesAggregate to determine if we should apply
             // the default limit for TS queries or for non-TS queries.
             // NOTE: PromqlCommand is translated to TimeSeriesAggregate during optimization.
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Verifier.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Verifier.java
index fa3684e23176e..c21d72b71e8bd 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Verifier.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/Verifier.java
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.InlineStats;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Insist;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Limit;
-import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.LimitBy;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.LogicalPlan;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Lookup;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Project;
@@ -120,7 +119,6 @@ Collection<Failure> verify(LogicalPlan plan, BitSet partialMetrics) {
             checkUnsupportedAttributeRenaming(p, failures);
             checkInsist(p, failures);
             checkLimitBeforeInlineStats(p, failures);
-            checkLimitBy(p, failures);
         });
 
         if (failures.hasFailures() == false) {
@@ -334,12 +332,6 @@ private static void checkLimitBeforeInlineStats(LogicalPlan plan, Failures failu
         }
     }
 
-    private static void checkLimitBy(LogicalPlan plan, Failures failures) {
-        if (plan instanceof LimitBy) {
-            failures.add(fail(plan, "LIMIT BY is not yet supported"));
-        }
-    }
-
     private void licenseCheck(LogicalPlan plan, Failures failures) {
         Consumer<Node<?>> licenseCheck = n -> {
             if (n instanceof LicenseAware la && la.licenseCheck(licenseState) == false) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/core/expression/Expressions.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/core/expression/Expressions.java
index 4b7f9208c320d..f63abd63378b1 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/core/expression/Expressions.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/core/expression/Expressions.java
@@ -188,6 +188,21 @@ public static boolean equalsAsAttribute(Expression left, Expression right) {
         return true;
     }
 
+    public static boolean listSemanticEquals(List<Expression> leftList, List<Expression> rightList) {
+        if (leftList.size() != rightList.size()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        for (int i = 0; i < leftList.size(); i++) {
+            Expression left = leftList.get(i);
+            Expression right = rightList.get(i);
+            assert left != null && right != null;
+            if (left.semanticEquals(right) == false) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
     public static List<Tuple<Attribute, Expression>> aliases(List<? extends NamedExpression> named) {
         // an alias of same name and data type can be reused (by mistake): need to use a list to collect all refs (and later report them)
         List<Tuple<Attribute, Expression>> aliases = new ArrayList<>();
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizer.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizer.java
index 5109cd0a0c60e..41d0e8207aab9 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizer.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizer.java
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceAggregateNestedExpressionWithEval;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceAliasingEvalWithProject;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceOrderByExpressionWithEval;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceRegexMatch;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.ReplaceRowAsLocalRelation;
@@ -181,6 +182,7 @@ protected static Batch<LogicalPlan> substitutions() {
             // check for a trivial conversion introduced by a surrogate
             new ReplaceTrivialTypeConversions(),
             new ReplaceOrderByExpressionWithEval(),
+            new ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval(),
             // new NormalizeAggregate(), - waits on https://github.com/elastic/elasticsearch/issues/100634
             new SubstituteApproximationPlan()
         );
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/CombineLimitTopN.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/CombineLimitTopN.java
index 0235d64603fa7..83d29221d379b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/CombineLimitTopN.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/CombineLimitTopN.java
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Project;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.TopN;
 
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expressions.listSemanticEquals;
+
 /**
  * Combines a Limit immediately followed by a TopN into a single TopN.
  * This is needed because {@link HoistRemoteEnrichTopN} can create new TopN nodes that are not covered by the previous rules.
@@ -25,13 +27,13 @@ public CombineLimitTopN() {
 
     @Override
     public LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit) {
-        if (limit.child() instanceof TopN topn) {
+        if (limit.child() instanceof TopN topn && listSemanticEquals(limit.groupings(), topn.groupings())) {
             int thisLimitValue = Foldables.limitValue(limit.limit(), limit.sourceText());
             int topNValue = Foldables.limitValue(topn.limit(), topn.sourceText());
             if (topNValue <= thisLimitValue) {
                 return topn;
             } else {
-                return new TopN(topn.source(), topn.child(), topn.order(), limit.limit(), topn.local());
+                return new TopN(topn.source(), topn.child(), topn.order(), limit.limit(), topn.groupings(), topn.local());
             }
         }
         if (limit.child() instanceof Project proj) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/HoistRemoteEnrichTopN.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/HoistRemoteEnrichTopN.java
index 703325bf200ac..49506414189c7 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/HoistRemoteEnrichTopN.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/HoistRemoteEnrichTopN.java
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ protected LogicalPlan rule(Enrich en) {
                     if (missingAttributes.isEmpty()) {
                         // No need for aliasing - then it's simple, just copy the TopN on top of Enrich and mark the original as local
                         LogicalPlan transformedEnrich = en.transformDown(TopN.class, t -> t == topN ? topN.withLocal(true) : t);
-                        return new TopN(topN.source(), transformedEnrich, topN.order(), topN.limit(), false);
+                        return new TopN(topN.source(), transformedEnrich, topN.order(), topN.limit(), topN.groupings(), false);
                     } else {
                         Set<String> missingNames = new HashSet<>(Expressions.names(missingAttributes));
                         AttributeMap.Builder<Alias> aliasesForReplacedAttributesBuilder = AttributeMap.builder();
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ protected LogicalPlan rule(Enrich en) {
                         }
 
                         // Create a copy of TopN with the rewritten attributes on top on Enrich
-                        var copyTop = new TopN(topN.source(), transformedEnrich, newOrder, topN.limit(), false);
+                        var copyTop = new TopN(topN.source(), transformedEnrich, newOrder, topN.limit(), topN.groupings(), false);
                         // And use the Project to remove the fields that we don't need anymore
                         return new Project(en.source(), copyTop, outputs);
                     }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PropagateEvalFoldables.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PropagateEvalFoldables.java
index 5e1da4c02939e..5983f42aa3488 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PropagateEvalFoldables.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PropagateEvalFoldables.java
@@ -39,9 +39,10 @@ public LogicalPlan apply(LogicalPlan plan, LogicalOptimizerContext ctx) {
         AttributeMap.Builder<Expression> builder = AttributeMap.builder();
         builder.putAll(collectRefs);
 
-        // Exclude multi-value (List) literals used as GROUP BY keys from propagation.
+        // Exclude multi-value (List) literals used as grouping keys from propagation.
         //
-        // Rationale: GROUP BY explodes multi-value fields into single values. For example:
+        // Rationale: both GROUP BY and LIMIT BY explode multi-value fields into single values.
+        // For example:
         // ROW a = [1, 2] | STATS x = a + SUM(a) BY a
         // Before aggregation, `a` is multi-valued [1, 2]. After GROUP BY, `a` becomes single-valued
         // (either 1 or 2 per group). If we propagate the original multi-value literal [1, 2] into
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PruneColumns.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PruneColumns.java
index 5c51fb8a4be13..a7c28f89a3668 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PruneColumns.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PruneColumns.java
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ private static LogicalPlan pruneColumns(LogicalPlan plan, AttributeSet.Builder u
 
             // TODO: revisit with every new command
             // skip nodes that simply pass the input through and use no references
-            if (p instanceof Limit || p instanceof Sample) {
+            if (p instanceof Limit limit && limit.groupings().isEmpty() || p instanceof Sample) {
                 return p;
             }
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimits.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimits.java
index 8e1e5045aaccb..52d4a2ddc81d5 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimits.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimits.java
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical;
 
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Alias;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Attribute;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expression;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.FoldContext;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.NameId;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.util.Holder;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.function.fulltext.Score;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.LogicalOptimizerContext;
@@ -31,7 +34,11 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.rule.Rule;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expressions.listSemanticEquals;
 
 public final class PushDownAndCombineLimits extends OptimizerRules.ParameterizedOptimizerRule<Limit, LogicalOptimizerContext>
     implements
@@ -50,7 +57,7 @@ private PushDownAndCombineLimits(boolean local) {
 
     @Override
     public LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit, LogicalOptimizerContext ctx) {
-        if (limit.child() instanceof Limit childLimit) {
+        if (limit.child() instanceof Limit childLimit && listSemanticEquals(childLimit.groupings(), limit.groupings())) {
             return combineLimits(limit, childLimit, ctx.foldCtx());
         } else if (limit.child() instanceof UnaryPlan unary) {
             if (unary instanceof Eval
@@ -61,6 +68,8 @@ public LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit, LogicalOptimizerContext ctx) {
                 if (false == local && unary instanceof Eval && evalAliasNeedsData((Eval) unary)) {
                     // do not push down the limit through an eval that needs data (e.g. a score function) during initial planning
                     return limit;
+                } else if (groupingsReferenceAttributeDefinedByChild(limit, unary)) {
+                    return limit;
                 } else {
                     return unary.replaceChild(limit.replaceChild(unary.child()));
                 }
@@ -82,7 +91,7 @@ public LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit, LogicalOptimizerContext ctx) {
             // this applies for cases such as | limit 1 | sort field | limit 10
             else {
                 Limit descendantLimit = descendantLimit(unary);
-                if (descendantLimit != null) {
+                if (descendantLimit != null && descendantLimit.groupings().isEmpty()) {
                     var l1 = (int) limit.limit().fold(ctx.foldCtx());
                     var l2 = (int) descendantLimit.limit().fold(ctx.foldCtx());
                     if (l2 <= l1) {
@@ -163,7 +172,7 @@ private static Limit combineLimits(Limit upper, Limit lower, FoldContext ctx) {
             // If any of them is local, we want the local limit
             return lower.local() ? lower : lower.withLocal(upper.local());
         } else {
-            return new Limit(upper.source(), upper.limit(), lower.child(), upper.duplicated(), upper.local());
+            return new Limit(upper.source(), upper.limit(), lower.child(), upper.groupings(), upper.duplicated(), upper.local());
         }
     }
 
@@ -183,14 +192,35 @@ private boolean evalAliasNeedsData(Eval eval) {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Checks the existence of another 'visible' Limit, that exists behind an operation that doesn't produce output more data than
-     * its input (that is not a relation/source nor aggregation).
+     * Returns {@code true} if any attribute referenced by the limit's groupings is defined by the child node
+     * (i.e. present in the child's output but absent from the grandchild's output). Pushing a grouped limit
+     * past such a child would leave the grouping attribute unresolved.
+     */
+    private static boolean groupingsReferenceAttributeDefinedByChild(Limit limit, UnaryPlan child) {
+        if (limit.groupings().isEmpty()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        Set<NameId> grandchildIds = new HashSet<>();
+        for (Attribute a : child.child().output()) {
+            grandchildIds.add(a.id());
+        }
+        for (Expression g : limit.groupings()) {
+            if (g instanceof Attribute a && grandchildIds.contains(a.id()) == false) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Checks the existence of another 'visible' non-grouping Limit, that exists behind an operation that doesn't produce more output data
+     * than its input (that is not a relation/source nor aggregation).
      * P.S. Typically an aggregation produces less data than the input.
      */
     private static Limit descendantLimit(UnaryPlan unary) {
         UnaryPlan plan = unary;
         while (plan instanceof Aggregate == false) {
-            if (plan instanceof Limit limit) {
+            if (plan instanceof Limit limit && limit.groupings().isEmpty()) {
                 return limit;
             } else if (plan instanceof MvExpand) {
                 // the limit that applies to mv_expand shouldn't be changed
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN.java
index e06acb34b4bf0..111e779a14877 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN.java
@@ -15,11 +15,13 @@
 public final class ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN extends OptimizerRules.OptimizerRule<Limit> {
 
     @Override
-    protected LogicalPlan rule(Limit plan) {
-        LogicalPlan p = plan;
-        if (plan.child() instanceof OrderBy o) {
-            p = new TopN(o.source(), o.child(), o.order(), plan.limit(), false);
+    protected LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit) {
+        LogicalPlan p = limit;
+
+        if (limit.child() instanceof OrderBy o) {
+            p = new TopN(o.source(), o.child(), o.order(), limit.limit(), limit.groupings(), false);
         }
+
         return p;
     }
 }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4722c5f0dbd70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval.java
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and/or licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License
+ * 2.0; you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License
+ * 2.0.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Alias;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Attribute;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expression;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Eval;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Limit;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.LogicalPlan;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.OrderBy;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Project;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Attribute.rawTemporaryName;
+
+/**
+ * Two-phase rewrite of {@link Limit} groupings (LIMIT BY):
+ * <ol>
+ *   <li><b>Prune foldable groupings.</b> A foldable expression evaluates to the same constant for every row, so it has
+ *       no grouping effect. If all groupings are foldable the LIMIT BY degenerates to a plain LIMIT.</li>
+ *   <li><b>Extract non-attribute expressions into a synthetic {@link Eval}.</b>
+ *       {@code SORT salary | LIMIT N BY languages * 2}
+ *       becomes
+ *       {@code SORT salary | EVAL $$limit_by_0 = languages * 2 | LIMIT N BY $$limit_by_0}
+ *       The eval is inserted below the {@link OrderBy} to preserve the {@code Limit -> OrderBy} structure
+ *       needed by {@link ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN}.</li>
+ * </ol>
+ */
+public final class ReplaceLimitByExpressionWithEval extends OptimizerRules.OptimizerRule<Limit> {
+
+    @Override
+    protected LogicalPlan rule(Limit limit) {
+        if (limit.groupings().isEmpty()) {
+            return limit;
+        }
+
+        // Phase 1: prune foldable groupings -- they evaluate to a constant and have no grouping effect.
+        // Groupings arrive from the parser as either raw Attributes (e.g. languages) or Alias nodes wrapping
+        // the expression (e.g. Alias("languages * 2", Mul(...))). Alias.foldable() is always false, so we
+        // unwrap to check the child.
+        List<Expression> newGroupings = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (Expression g : limit.groupings()) {
+            Expression toCheck = g instanceof Alias as ? as.child() : g;
+            if (toCheck.foldable() == false) {
+                newGroupings.add(g);
+            }
+        }
+        if (newGroupings.isEmpty()) {
+            // All groupings were foldable -- degenerate to plain LIMIT
+            return new Limit(limit.source(), limit.limit(), limit.child(), List.of(), limit.duplicated(), limit.local());
+        }
+
+        // Phase 2: extract non-attribute grouping expressions into a synthetic Eval.
+        // Groupings that are already Attributes are left as-is. Alias nodes are moved directly into
+        // the eval list (mirroring ReplaceAggregateNestedExpressionWithEval) rather than wrapped in a
+        // second Alias.
+        int counter = 0;
+        int size = newGroupings.size();
+        List<Alias> evals = new ArrayList<>(size);
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+            Expression g = newGroupings.get(i);
+            if (g instanceof Alias as) {
+                // Move the existing alias into the eval and replace the grouping with its attribute
+                evals.add(as);
+                newGroupings.set(i, as.toAttribute());
+            } else if (g instanceof Attribute == false) {
+                var name = rawTemporaryName("LIMIT BY", String.valueOf(i), String.valueOf(counter++));
+                var alias = new Alias(g.source(), name, g, null, true);
+                evals.add(alias);
+                newGroupings.set(i, alias.toAttribute());
+            }
+            // else: g is already an Attribute, leave it as-is
+        }
+
+        if (evals.isEmpty()) {
+            // Groupings changed (foldables pruned) but all remaining are already attributes -- update the Limit
+            if (newGroupings.size() != limit.groupings().size()) {
+                return new Limit(limit.source(), limit.limit(), limit.child(), newGroupings, limit.duplicated(), limit.local());
+            }
+            return limit;
+        }
+
+        // Insert Eval below OrderBy to preserve Limit -> OrderBy structure for ReplaceLimitAndSortAsTopN
+        var originalOutput = limit.output();
+        var child = limit.child();
+        LogicalPlan evalChild;
+        if (child instanceof OrderBy orderBy) {
+            evalChild = new OrderBy(orderBy.source(), new Eval(orderBy.source(), orderBy.child(), evals), orderBy.order());
+        } else {
+            evalChild = new Eval(limit.source(), child, evals);
+        }
+
+        var newLimit = new Limit(limit.source(), limit.limit(), evalChild, newGroupings, limit.duplicated(), limit.local());
+        return new Project(limit.source(), newLimit, originalOutput);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/local/ReplaceTopNWithLimitAndSort.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/local/ReplaceTopNWithLimitAndSort.java
index 70bb401814e6c..fb690c1de4842 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/local/ReplaceTopNWithLimitAndSort.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/local/ReplaceTopNWithLimitAndSort.java
@@ -25,6 +25,6 @@ public ReplaceTopNWithLimitAndSort() {
 
     @Override
     protected LogicalPlan rule(TopN plan) {
-        return new Limit(plan.source(), plan.limit(), new OrderBy(plan.source(), plan.child(), plan.order()));
+        return new Limit(plan.source(), plan.limit(), new OrderBy(plan.source(), plan.child(), plan.order()), plan.groupings());
     }
 }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushLimitToSource.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushLimitToSource.java
index a6d3d5c1d537f..0f6b72f9bc528 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushLimitToSource.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushLimitToSource.java
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@
 public class PushLimitToSource extends PhysicalOptimizerRules.OptimizerRule<LimitExec> {
     @Override
     protected PhysicalPlan rule(LimitExec limitExec) {
+        if (limitExec.groupings().isEmpty() == false) {
+            return limitExec;
+        }
         PhysicalPlan plan = limitExec;
         PhysicalPlan child = limitExec.child();
         if (child instanceof EsQueryExec queryExec) { // add_task_parallelism_above_query: false
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSource.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSource.java
index 078928a83e80e..bcb3590b39974 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSource.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSource.java
@@ -141,7 +141,8 @@ private static Pushable evaluatePushable(
         int maxKeywordSortFields
     ) {
         PhysicalPlan child = topNExec.child();
-        if (child instanceof EsQueryExec queryExec
+        if (topNExec.groupings().isEmpty()
+            && child instanceof EsQueryExec queryExec
             && queryExec.canPushSorts()
             && canPushDownOrders(topNExec.order(), lucenePushdownPredicates)
             && canPushLimit(topNExec, plannerSettings)
@@ -149,7 +150,8 @@ && tooManyKeywordSortFields(topNExec.order(), maxKeywordSortFields) == false) {
             // With the simplest case of `FROM index | SORT ...` we only allow pushing down if the sort is on a field
             return new PushableQueryExec(queryExec);
         }
-        if (child instanceof EvalExec evalExec
+        if (topNExec.groupings().isEmpty()
+            && child instanceof EvalExec evalExec
             && evalExec.child() instanceof EsQueryExec queryExec
             && queryExec.canPushSorts()
             && canPushLimit(topNExec, plannerSettings)) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/Limit.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/Limit.java
index 6d57f3010df73..6695cf72385d5 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/Limit.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/Limit.java
@@ -6,22 +6,29 @@
  */
 package org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.TransportVersion;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.NamedWriteableRegistry;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamInput;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.StreamOutput;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.capabilities.TelemetryAware;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.capabilities.Resolvables;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expression;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.tree.NodeInfo;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.tree.Source;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.io.stream.PlanStreamInput;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 
 public class Limit extends UnaryPlan implements TelemetryAware, PipelineBreaker, ExecutesOn {
+    public static final TransportVersion ESQL_LIMIT_BY = TransportVersion.fromName("esql_limit_by");
+
     public static final NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry ENTRY = new NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry(LogicalPlan.class, "Limit", Limit::new);
 
     private final Expression limit;
+
+    private List<Expression> groupings;
     /**
      * Important for optimizations. This should be {@code false} in most cases, which allows this instance to be duplicated past a child
      * plan node that increases the number of rows, like for LOOKUP JOIN and MV_EXPAND.
@@ -43,11 +50,24 @@ public Limit(Source source, Expression limit, LogicalPlan child) {
         this(source, limit, child, false, false);
     }
 
-    public Limit(Source source, Expression limit, LogicalPlan child, boolean duplicated, boolean local) {
+    /**
+     * Create a new instance with groupings, which are the expressions used in LIMIT BY. This sets {@link Limit#duplicated}
+     * and {@link Limit#local} to {@code false}.
+     */
+    public Limit(Source source, Expression limit, LogicalPlan child, List<Expression> groupings) {
+        this(source, limit, child, groupings, false, false);
+    }
+
+    public Limit(Source source, Expression limit, LogicalPlan child, List<Expression> groupings, boolean duplicated, boolean local) {
         super(source, child);
         this.limit = limit;
         this.duplicated = duplicated;
         this.local = local;
+        this.groupings = groupings;
+    }
+
+    public Limit(Source source, Expression limit, LogicalPlan child, boolean duplicated, boolean local) {
+        this(source, limit, child, List.of(), duplicated, local);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -58,9 +78,14 @@ private Limit(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
             Source.readFrom((PlanStreamInput) in),
             in.readNamedWriteable(Expression.class),
             in.readNamedWriteable(LogicalPlan.class),
+            List.of(),
             false,
             false
         );
+
+        if (in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            this.groupings = in.readNamedWriteableCollectionAsList(Expression.class);
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -73,6 +98,12 @@ public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
         Source.EMPTY.writeTo(out);
         out.writeNamedWriteable(limit());
         out.writeNamedWriteable(child());
+
+        if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            out.writeNamedWriteableCollection(groupings());
+        } else if (groupings.isEmpty() == false) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("LIMIT BY is not supported by all nodes in the cluster");
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -82,20 +113,24 @@ public String getWriteableName() {
 
     @Override
     protected NodeInfo<Limit> info() {
-        return NodeInfo.create(this, Limit::new, limit, child(), duplicated, local);
+        return NodeInfo.create(this, Limit::new, limit, child(), groupings, duplicated, local);
     }
 
     @Override
     public Limit replaceChild(LogicalPlan newChild) {
-        return new Limit(source(), limit, newChild, duplicated, local);
+        return new Limit(source(), limit, newChild, groupings, duplicated, local);
     }
 
     public Expression limit() {
         return limit;
     }
 
+    public List<Expression> groupings() {
+        return groupings;
+    }
+
     public Limit withLimit(Expression limit) {
-        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), duplicated, local);
+        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), groupings, duplicated, local);
     }
 
     public boolean duplicated() {
@@ -107,21 +142,21 @@ public boolean local() {
     }
 
     public Limit withDuplicated(boolean duplicated) {
-        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), duplicated, local);
+        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), groupings, duplicated, local);
     }
 
     public Limit withLocal(boolean newLocal) {
-        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), duplicated, newLocal);
+        return new Limit(source(), limit, child(), groupings, duplicated, newLocal);
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean expressionsResolved() {
-        return limit.resolved();
+        return limit.resolved() && Resolvables.resolved(groupings);
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(limit, child(), duplicated, local);
+        return Objects.hash(limit, child(), duplicated, local, groupings);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -138,7 +173,8 @@ public boolean equals(Object obj) {
         return Objects.equals(limit, other.limit)
             && Objects.equals(child(), other.child())
             && (duplicated == other.duplicated)
-            && (local == other.local);
+            && (local == other.local)
+            && Objects.equals(groupings, other.groupings);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopN.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopN.java
index b365be5253380..1a49f3eb7888e 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopN.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopN.java
@@ -21,22 +21,27 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Limit.ESQL_LIMIT_BY;
+
 public class TopN extends UnaryPlan implements PipelineBreaker, ExecutesOn {
     public static final NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry ENTRY = new NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry(LogicalPlan.class, "TopN", TopN::new);
 
     private final List<Order> order;
     private final Expression limit;
+    private List<Expression> groupings;
+
     /**
      * Local topn is not a pipeline breaker, and is applied only to the local node's data.
      * It should always end up inside a fragment.
      */
     private final transient boolean local;
 
-    public TopN(Source source, LogicalPlan child, List<Order> order, Expression limit, boolean local) {
+    public TopN(Source source, LogicalPlan child, List<Order> order, Expression limit, List<Expression> groupings, boolean local) {
         super(source, child);
         this.order = order;
         this.limit = limit;
         this.local = local;
+        this.groupings = groupings;
     }
 
     private TopN(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
@@ -45,8 +50,13 @@ private TopN(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
             in.readNamedWriteable(LogicalPlan.class),
             in.readCollectionAsList(Order::new),
             in.readNamedWriteable(Expression.class),
+            List.of(),
             false
         );
+
+        if (in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            this.groupings = in.readNamedWriteableCollectionAsList(Expression.class);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -55,6 +65,11 @@ public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
         out.writeNamedWriteable(child());
         out.writeCollection(order);
         out.writeNamedWriteable(limit);
+        if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            out.writeNamedWriteableCollection(groupings);
+        } else if (groupings.isEmpty() == false) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("LIMIT BY is not supported by all nodes in the cluster");
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -64,21 +79,21 @@ public String getWriteableName() {
 
     @Override
     public boolean expressionsResolved() {
-        return limit.resolved() && Resolvables.resolved(order);
+        return limit.resolved() && Resolvables.resolved(order) && Resolvables.resolved(groupings);
     }
 
     @Override
     protected NodeInfo<TopN> info() {
-        return NodeInfo.create(this, TopN::new, child(), order, limit, local);
+        return NodeInfo.create(this, TopN::new, child(), order, limit, groupings, local);
     }
 
     @Override
     public TopN replaceChild(LogicalPlan newChild) {
-        return new TopN(source(), newChild, order, limit, local);
+        return new TopN(source(), newChild, order, limit, groupings, local);
     }
 
     public TopN withLocal(boolean local) {
-        return new TopN(source(), child(), order, limit, local);
+        return new TopN(source(), child(), order, limit, groupings, local);
     }
 
     public boolean local() {
@@ -93,16 +108,23 @@ public List<Order> order() {
         return order;
     }
 
+    public List<Expression> groupings() {
+        return groupings;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(super.hashCode(), order, limit, local);
+        return Objects.hash(super.hashCode(), order, limit, groupings, local);
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object obj) {
         if (super.equals(obj)) {
             var other = (TopN) obj;
-            return Objects.equals(order, other.order) && Objects.equals(limit, other.limit) && local == other.local;
+            return Objects.equals(order, other.order)
+                && Objects.equals(limit, other.limit)
+                && Objects.equals(groupings, other.groupings)
+                && local == other.local;
         }
         return false;
     }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/LimitExec.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/LimitExec.java
index 0619a3b2fd77d..4e8eab99de488 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/LimitExec.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/LimitExec.java
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Limit.ESQL_LIMIT_BY;
+
 public class LimitExec extends UnaryExec implements EstimatesRowSize {
     public static final NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry ENTRY = new NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry(
         PhysicalPlan.class,
@@ -33,20 +35,31 @@ public class LimitExec extends UnaryExec implements EstimatesRowSize {
 
     private final Expression limit;
     private final Integer estimatedRowSize;
+    private List<Expression> groupings;
 
-    public LimitExec(Source source, PhysicalPlan child, Expression limit, Integer estimatedRowSize) {
+    public LimitExec(Source source, PhysicalPlan child, Expression limit, List<Expression> groupings, Integer estimatedRowSize) {
         super(source, child);
         this.limit = limit;
+        this.groupings = groupings;
         this.estimatedRowSize = estimatedRowSize;
     }
 
+    public LimitExec(Source source, PhysicalPlan child, Expression limit, Integer estimatedRowSize) {
+        this(source, child, limit, List.of(), estimatedRowSize);
+    }
+
     private LimitExec(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
         this(
             Source.readFrom((PlanStreamInput) in),
             in.readNamedWriteable(PhysicalPlan.class),
             in.readNamedWriteable(Expression.class),
+            List.of(),
             in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_ROW_SIZE) ? in.readOptionalVInt() : null
         );
+
+        if (in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            this.groupings = in.readNamedWriteableCollectionAsList(Expression.class);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -57,6 +70,12 @@ public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
         if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_ROW_SIZE)) {
             out.writeOptionalVInt(estimatedRowSize);
         }
+
+        if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            out.writeNamedWriteableCollection(groupings());
+        } else if (groupings.isEmpty() == false) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("LIMIT BY is not supported by all nodes in the cluster");
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -66,18 +85,22 @@ public String getWriteableName() {
 
     @Override
     protected NodeInfo<? extends LimitExec> info() {
-        return NodeInfo.create(this, LimitExec::new, child(), limit, estimatedRowSize);
+        return NodeInfo.create(this, LimitExec::new, child(), limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize);
     }
 
     @Override
     public LimitExec replaceChild(PhysicalPlan newChild) {
-        return new LimitExec(source(), newChild, limit, estimatedRowSize);
+        return new LimitExec(source(), newChild, limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize);
     }
 
     public Expression limit() {
         return limit;
     }
 
+    public List<Expression> groupings() {
+        return groupings;
+    }
+
     public Integer estimatedRowSize() {
         return estimatedRowSize;
     }
@@ -90,12 +113,12 @@ public PhysicalPlan estimateRowSize(State unused) {
         state.add(needsSortedDocIds, output);
         int size = state.consumeAllFields(true);
         size = Math.max(size, 1);
-        return Objects.equals(this.estimatedRowSize, size) ? this : new LimitExec(source(), child(), limit, size);
+        return Objects.equals(this.estimatedRowSize, size) ? this : new LimitExec(source(), child(), limit, groupings, size);
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(limit, estimatedRowSize, child());
+        return Objects.hash(limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize, child());
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -110,6 +133,7 @@ public boolean equals(Object obj) {
 
         LimitExec other = (LimitExec) obj;
         return Objects.equals(limit, other.limit)
+            && Objects.equals(groupings, other.groupings)
             && Objects.equals(estimatedRowSize, other.estimatedRowSize)
             && Objects.equals(child(), other.child());
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExec.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExec.java
index 33dde43ac98ae..ca9238fe4492f 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExec.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExec.java
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.plan.logical.Limit.ESQL_LIMIT_BY;
+
 public class TopNExec extends UnaryExec implements EstimatesRowSize {
     private static final TransportVersion ESQL_TOPN_AVOID_RESORTING = TransportVersion.fromName("esql_topn_avoid_resorting");
 
@@ -64,6 +66,8 @@ public class TopNExec extends UnaryExec implements EstimatesRowSize {
      */
     private final Integer estimatedRowSize;
 
+    private List<Expression> groupings;
+
     private final InputOrdering inputOrdering;
 
     /**
@@ -73,8 +77,15 @@ public class TopNExec extends UnaryExec implements EstimatesRowSize {
     @Nullable
     private final transient SharedMinCompetitive.Supplier minCompetitive;
 
-    public TopNExec(Source source, PhysicalPlan child, List<Order> order, Expression limit, Integer estimatedRowSize) {
-        this(source, child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize, Set.of(), InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED, null);
+    public TopNExec(
+        Source source,
+        PhysicalPlan child,
+        List<Order> order,
+        Expression limit,
+        List<Expression> groupings,
+        Integer estimatedRowSize
+    ) {
+        this(source, child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize, groupings, Set.of(), InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED, null);
     }
 
     private TopNExec(
@@ -83,9 +94,10 @@ private TopNExec(
         List<Order> order,
         Expression limit,
         Integer estimatedRowSize,
+        List<Expression> groupings,
         InputOrdering inputOrdering
     ) {
-        this(source, child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize, Set.of(), inputOrdering, null);
+        this(source, child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize, groupings, Set.of(), inputOrdering, null);
     }
 
     private TopNExec(
@@ -94,9 +106,10 @@ private TopNExec(
         List<Order> order,
         Expression limit,
         Integer estimatedRowSize,
+        List<Expression> groupings,
         Set<Attribute> docValuesAttributes,
         InputOrdering inputOrdering,
-        SharedMinCompetitive.Supplier minCompetitive
+        @Nullable SharedMinCompetitive.Supplier minCompetitive
     ) {
         super(source, child);
         this.order = order;
@@ -104,6 +117,7 @@ private TopNExec(
         this.estimatedRowSize = estimatedRowSize;
         this.inputOrdering = inputOrdering;
         this.docValuesAttributes = docValuesAttributes;
+        this.groupings = groupings;
         this.minCompetitive = minCompetitive;
     }
 
@@ -114,8 +128,13 @@ private TopNExec(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
             in.readCollectionAsList(org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.Order::new),
             in.readNamedWriteable(Expression.class),
             in.readOptionalVInt(),
+            List.of(),
             in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_TOPN_AVOID_RESORTING) ? InputOrdering.valueOf(in.readString()) : InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED
         );
+
+        if (in.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            this.groupings = in.readNamedWriteableCollectionAsList(Expression.class);
+        }
         // docValueAttributes are only used on the data node and never serialized.
     }
 
@@ -126,9 +145,17 @@ public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
         out.writeCollection(order());
         out.writeNamedWriteable(limit());
         out.writeOptionalVInt(estimatedRowSize());
+
         if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_TOPN_AVOID_RESORTING)) {
             out.writeString(inputOrdering.toString());
         }
+
+        if (out.getTransportVersion().supports(ESQL_LIMIT_BY)) {
+            out.writeNamedWriteableCollection(groupings());
+        } else if (groupings.isEmpty() == false) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("LIMIT BY is not supported by all nodes in the cluster");
+        }
+
         // docValueAttributes are only used on the data node and never serialized.
         if (minCompetitive != null) {
             throw new IllegalStateException("min competitive should not be set on the coordinating node because it is not serialized");
@@ -142,20 +169,50 @@ public String getWriteableName() {
 
     @Override
     protected NodeInfo<TopNExec> info() {
-        return NodeInfo.create(this, TopNExec::new, child(), order, limit, estimatedRowSize);
+        return NodeInfo.create(this, TopNExec::new, child(), order, limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize);
     }
 
     @Override
     public TopNExec replaceChild(PhysicalPlan newChild) {
-        return new TopNExec(source(), newChild, order, limit, estimatedRowSize, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
+        return new TopNExec(
+            source(),
+            newChild,
+            order,
+            limit,
+            estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
+            docValuesAttributes,
+            inputOrdering,
+            minCompetitive
+        );
     }
 
     public TopNExec withDocValuesAttributes(Set<Attribute> docValuesAttributes) {
-        return new TopNExec(source(), child(), order, limit, estimatedRowSize, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
+        return new TopNExec(
+            source(),
+            child(),
+            order,
+            limit,
+            estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
+            docValuesAttributes,
+            inputOrdering,
+            minCompetitive
+        );
     }
 
     public TopNExec withSortedInput() {
-        return new TopNExec(source(), child(), order, limit, estimatedRowSize, docValuesAttributes, InputOrdering.SORTED, minCompetitive);
+        return new TopNExec(
+            source(),
+            child(),
+            order,
+            limit,
+            estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
+            docValuesAttributes,
+            InputOrdering.SORTED,
+            minCompetitive
+        );
     }
 
     public TopNExec withNonSortedInput() {
@@ -165,6 +222,7 @@ public TopNExec withNonSortedInput() {
             order,
             limit,
             estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
             docValuesAttributes,
             InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED,
             minCompetitive
@@ -191,7 +249,17 @@ public List<SharedMinCompetitive.KeyConfig> minCompetitiveKeyConfig() {
     }
 
     public TopNExec withMinCompetitive(SharedMinCompetitive.Supplier minCompetitive) {
-        return new TopNExec(source(), child(), order, limit, estimatedRowSize, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
+        return new TopNExec(
+            source(),
+            child(),
+            order,
+            limit,
+            estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
+            docValuesAttributes,
+            inputOrdering,
+            minCompetitive
+        );
     }
 
     public Expression limit() {
@@ -202,6 +270,10 @@ public List<Order> order() {
         return order;
     }
 
+    public List<Expression> groupings() {
+        return groupings;
+    }
+
     public Set<Attribute> docValuesAttributes() {
         return docValuesAttributes;
     }
@@ -223,12 +295,21 @@ public PhysicalPlan estimateRowSize(State state) {
         size = Math.max(size, 1);
         return Objects.equals(this.estimatedRowSize, size)
             ? this
-            : new TopNExec(source(), child(), order, limit, size, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
+            : new TopNExec(source(), child(), order, limit, size, groupings, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
     }
 
     @Override
     public int hashCode() {
-        return Objects.hash(super.hashCode(), order, limit, estimatedRowSize, docValuesAttributes, inputOrdering, minCompetitive);
+        return Objects.hash(
+            super.hashCode(),
+            order,
+            limit,
+            estimatedRowSize,
+            groupings,
+            docValuesAttributes,
+            inputOrdering,
+            minCompetitive
+        );
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -240,6 +321,7 @@ public boolean equals(Object obj) {
                 && Objects.equals(limit, other.limit)
                 && Objects.equals(estimatedRowSize, other.estimatedRowSize)
                 && Objects.equals(docValuesAttributes, other.docValuesAttributes)
+                && Objects.equals(groupings, other.groupings)
                 && Objects.equals(inputOrdering, other.inputOrdering)
                 /*
                  * NOTE: minCompetitive only has reference equality. We don't serialize
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/LocalExecutionPlanner.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/LocalExecutionPlanner.java
index d80b86a13562f..128c5652cb374 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/LocalExecutionPlanner.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/LocalExecutionPlanner.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.DriverContext;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.EvalOperator.EvalOperatorFactory;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.FilterOperator.FilterOperatorFactory;
+import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.GroupedLimitOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.LimitOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.LocalSourceOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.LocalSourceOperator.LocalSourceFactory;
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.fuse.RrfConfig;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.fuse.RrfScoreEvalOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.DocVectorEncoder;
+import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.GroupedTopNOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.TopNEncoder;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.TopNOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.TopNOperator.TopNOperatorFactory;
@@ -547,9 +549,10 @@ private PhysicalOperation planTopN(TopNExec topNExec, LocalExecutionPlannerConte
         assert rowSize != null && rowSize > 0 : "estimated row size [" + rowSize + "] wasn't set";
         PhysicalOperation source = plan(topNExec.child(), context);
 
-        ElementType[] elementTypes = new ElementType[source.layout.numberOfChannels()];
-        TopNEncoder[] encoders = new TopNEncoder[source.layout.numberOfChannels()];
-        List<Layout.ChannelSet> inverse = source.layout.inverse();
+        Layout layout = source.layout;
+        ElementType[] elementTypes = new ElementType[layout.numberOfChannels()];
+        TopNEncoder[] encoders = new TopNEncoder[layout.numberOfChannels()];
+        List<Layout.ChannelSet> inverse = layout.inverse();
         for (int channel = 0; channel < inverse.size(); channel++) {
             var fieldExtractPreference = fieldExtractPreference(topNExec, inverse.get(channel).nameIds());
             elementTypes[channel] = PlannerUtils.toElementType(inverse.get(channel).type(), fieldExtractPreference);
@@ -568,19 +571,17 @@ private PhysicalOperation planTopN(TopNExec topNExec, LocalExecutionPlannerConte
             };
         }
         List<TopNOperator.SortOrder> orders = topNExec.order().stream().map(order -> {
-            int sortByChannel;
-            if (order.child() instanceof Attribute a) {
-                sortByChannel = source.layout.get(a.id()).channel();
-            } else {
-                throw new EsqlIllegalArgumentException("order by expression must be an attribute");
-            }
-
+            int sortByChannel = getAttributeChannel(order.child(), layout, "order by expression must be an attribute");
             return new TopNOperator.SortOrder(
                 sortByChannel,
                 order.direction().equals(Order.OrderDirection.ASC),
                 order.nullsPosition().equals(Order.NullsPosition.FIRST)
             );
         }).toList();
+        List<Integer> groupKeys = topNExec.groupings()
+            .stream()
+            .map(grouping -> getAttributeChannel(grouping, layout, "LIMIT BY expression must be an attribute"))
+            .toList();
 
         int limit;
         if (topNExec.limit() instanceof Literal literal) {
@@ -589,21 +590,44 @@ private PhysicalOperation planTopN(TopNExec topNExec, LocalExecutionPlannerConte
         } else {
             throw new EsqlIllegalArgumentException("limit only supported with literal values");
         }
+        long jumboPageSize = context.plannerSettings.valuesLoadingJumboSize().getBytes();
+        if (groupKeys.isEmpty()) {
+            return source.with(
+                new TopNOperatorFactory(
+                    limit,
+                    asList(elementTypes),
+                    asList(encoders),
+                    orders,
+                    context.pageSize(topNExec, rowSize),
+                    jumboPageSize,
+                    topNExec.inputOrdering(),
+                    topNExec.minCompetitive()
+                ),
+                source.layout
+            );
+        }
         return source.with(
-            new TopNOperatorFactory(
+            new GroupedTopNOperator.GroupedTopNOperatorFactory(
                 limit,
                 asList(elementTypes),
                 asList(encoders),
                 orders,
+                groupKeys,
                 context.pageSize(topNExec, rowSize),
-                context.plannerSettings.valuesLoadingJumboSize().getBytes(),
-                topNExec.inputOrdering(),
-                topNExec.minCompetitive()
+                jumboPageSize
             ),
             source.layout
         );
     }
 
+    private static int getAttributeChannel(Expression expression, Layout layout, String errMessage) {
+        if (expression instanceof Attribute a) {
+            return layout.get(a.id()).channel();
+        } else {
+            throw new EsqlIllegalArgumentException(errMessage);
+        }
+    }
+
     private static MappedFieldType.FieldExtractPreference fieldExtractPreference(TopNExec topNExec, Set<NameId> nameIds) {
         MappedFieldType.FieldExtractPreference fieldExtractPreference = MappedFieldType.FieldExtractPreference.NONE;
         // See if any of the NameIds is marked as having been loaded with doc-values preferences, which will affect the ElementType chosen.
@@ -1410,7 +1434,21 @@ private PhysicalOperation planFilter(FilterExec filter, LocalExecutionPlannerCon
 
     private PhysicalOperation planLimit(LimitExec limit, LocalExecutionPlannerContext context) {
         PhysicalOperation source = plan(limit.child(), context);
-        return source.with(new LimitOperator.Factory((Integer) limit.limit().fold(context.foldCtx)), source.layout);
+        int limitValue = (Integer) limit.limit().fold(context.foldCtx);
+        if (limit.groupings().isEmpty()) {
+            return source.with(new LimitOperator.Factory(limitValue), source.layout);
+        }
+        Layout layout = source.layout;
+        List<Integer> groupKeys = limit.groupings()
+            .stream()
+            .map(g -> getAttributeChannel(g, layout, "LIMIT BY expression must be an attribute"))
+            .toList();
+        List<Layout.ChannelSet> inverse = layout.inverse();
+        List<ElementType> elementTypes = new ArrayList<>(layout.numberOfChannels());
+        for (int channel = 0; channel < inverse.size(); channel++) {
+            elementTypes.add(PlannerUtils.toElementType(inverse.get(channel).type()));
+        }
+        return source.with(new GroupedLimitOperator.Factory(limitValue, groupKeys, elementTypes), source.layout);
     }
 
     private PhysicalOperation planMvExpand(MvExpandExec mvExpandExec, LocalExecutionPlannerContext context) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/LocalMapper.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/LocalMapper.java
index f0fbf6fbf9730..8d4d0b2f4c141 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/LocalMapper.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/LocalMapper.java
@@ -91,11 +91,11 @@ private PhysicalPlan mapUnary(UnaryPlan unary) {
         }
 
         if (unary instanceof Limit limit) {
-            return new LimitExec(limit.source(), mappedChild, limit.limit(), null);
+            return new LimitExec(limit.source(), mappedChild, limit.limit(), limit.groupings(), null);
         }
 
         if (unary instanceof TopN topN) {
-            return new TopNExec(topN.source(), mappedChild, topN.order(), topN.limit(), null);
+            return new TopNExec(topN.source(), mappedChild, topN.order(), topN.limit(), topN.groupings(), null);
         }
 
         if (unary instanceof MetricsInfo metricsInfo) {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/Mapper.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/Mapper.java
index 74af3481cb924..7975512977240 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/Mapper.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/planner/mapper/Mapper.java
@@ -141,12 +141,12 @@ else if (aggregate.groupings()
 
         if (unary instanceof Limit limit) {
             mappedChild = addExchangeForFragment(limit, mappedChild);
-            return new LimitExec(limit.source(), mappedChild, limit.limit(), null);
+            return new LimitExec(limit.source(), mappedChild, limit.limit(), limit.groupings(), null);
         }
 
         if (unary instanceof TopN topN) {
             mappedChild = addExchangeForFragment(topN, mappedChild);
-            var topNExec = new TopNExec(topN.source(), mappedChild, topN.order(), topN.limit(), null);
+            var topNExec = new TopNExec(topN.source(), mappedChild, topN.order(), topN.limit(), topN.groupings(), null);
 
             if (mappedChild instanceof ExchangeExec exchangeExec) {
                 // If the data nodes run a TopN, the TopN in the coordinator will receive already sorted data
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/EsqlPlugin.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/EsqlPlugin.java
index 2aff4a3a455c6..fe7f107141a4c 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/EsqlPlugin.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/EsqlPlugin.java
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.exchange.ExchangeSinkOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.exchange.ExchangeSourceOperator;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.fuse.LinearScoreEvalOperator;
+import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.GroupedTopNOperatorStatus;
 import org.elasticsearch.compute.operator.topn.TopNOperatorStatus;
 import org.elasticsearch.core.TimeValue;
 import org.elasticsearch.features.NodeFeature;
@@ -401,6 +402,7 @@ public List<NamedWriteableRegistry.Entry> getNamedWriteables() {
         entries.add(GroupedLimitOperator.Status.ENTRY);
         entries.add(LuceneOperator.Status.ENTRY);
         entries.add(TopNOperatorStatus.ENTRY);
+        entries.add(GroupedTopNOperatorStatus.ENTRY);
         entries.add(MvExpandOperator.Status.ENTRY);
         entries.add(ValuesSourceReaderOperatorStatus.ENTRY);
         entries.add(SingleValueQuery.ENTRY);
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/AnalyzerTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/AnalyzerTests.java
index 822db64649f17..89c3e431de067 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/AnalyzerTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/AnalyzerTests.java
@@ -1395,6 +1395,30 @@ public void testImplicitDefaultLimitAfterBreakerAndNonBreakers() {
         }
     }
 
+    public void testImplicitDefaultLimitAfterLimitBy() {
+        var plan = analyze("from test | limit 1 by emp_no");
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(as(defaultLimit.limit(), Literal.class).value(), equalTo(DEFAULT_LIMIT));
+        var limit = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+    }
+
+    public void testImplicitDefaultLimitAfterLimitByWithSort() {
+        var plan = analyze("""
+            FROM test
+            | SORT first_name
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(as(defaultLimit.limit(), Literal.class).value(), equalTo(DEFAULT_LIMIT));
+        var limit = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+        var orderBy = as(limit.child(), OrderBy.class);
+        as(orderBy.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
     private static final String[] COMPARISONS = new String[] { "==", "!=", "<", "<=", ">", ">=" };
 
     public void testCompareIntToString() {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/VerifierTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/VerifierTests.java
index 0b963ce424a21..bd927b1515ef4 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/VerifierTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/analysis/VerifierTests.java
@@ -3866,6 +3866,19 @@ public void testMMRLambdaValueIsValid() {
         );
     }
 
+    public void testLimitBy() {
+        assertThat(error("""
+            FROM test
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY made_up_attr
+            """, defaultAnalyzer, VerificationException.class), containsString("Unknown column [made_up_attr]"));
+
+        assertThat(error("""
+            FROM test
+            | LIMIT 5 BY made_up_attr
+            """, defaultAnalyzer, VerificationException.class), containsString("Unknown column [made_up_attr]"));
+    }
+
     public void testMMRLimitedInput() {
         assertThat(error("""
             FROM test
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LocalPhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LocalPhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
index a47c86ad60fb0..1d9c2f4f58ae2 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LocalPhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LocalPhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
@@ -2275,6 +2275,50 @@ public void testMatchFunctionStatisWithNonPushableCondition() {
         assertNull(esQuery.query());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * ProjectExec[[first_name{f}#10, last_name{f}#13, salary{f}#14, languages{f}#12]]
+     * \_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#14,DESC,LAST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#12],108]
+     *   \_ExchangeExec[[first_name{f}#10, languages{f}#12, last_name{f}#13, salary{f}#14],false]
+     *     \_ProjectExec[[first_name{f}#10, languages{f}#12, last_name{f}#13, salary{f}#14]]
+     *       \_FieldExtractExec[first_name{f}#10, last_name{f}#13][],[]
+     *         \_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#14,DESC,LAST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#12],128]
+     *           \_FieldExtractExec[salary{f}#14, languages{f}#12][],[]
+     *             \_EsQueryExec[test], indexMode[standard], [_doc{f}#20], limit[], sort[] estimatedRowSize[12]
+     *             queryBuilderAndTags [[QueryBuilderAndTags[query=null, tags=[]]]]
+     */
+    public void testSortWithGrouping() {
+        String query = """
+             FROM test
+            | SORT salary DESC NULLS LAST
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            | KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages""";
+        PhysicalPlan plan = plannerOptimizer.plan(query);
+
+        var project = as(plan, ProjectExec.class);
+
+        var topN = as(project.child(), TopNExec.class);
+
+        assertThat(as(as(topN.limit(), Literal.class).value(), Integer.class), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(topN.groupings(), hasSize(1));
+        var fieldAttr = as(topN.groupings().get(0), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(fieldAttr.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var topNOrder = topN.order();
+        assertThat(topNOrder.size(), equalTo(1));
+        var order = as(topNOrder.get(0), Order.class);
+        assertThat(as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class).name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+        assertThat(order.nullsPosition(), equalTo(Order.NullsPosition.LAST));
+
+        var exchangeExec = as(topN.child(), ExchangeExec.class);
+        var projectDataNode = as(exchangeExec.child(), ProjectExec.class);
+        var fieldExtractDataNode = as(projectDataNode.child(), FieldExtractExec.class);
+        var topNExec = as(fieldExtractDataNode.child(), TopNExec.class);
+        var fieldExtractExec = as(topNExec.child(), FieldExtractExec.class);
+        var esQueryExec = as(fieldExtractExec.child(), EsQueryExec.class);
+
+    }
+
     public void testToDateNanosPushDown() {
         IndexResolution indexWithUnionTypedFields = indexWithDateDateNanosUnionType();
         plannerOptimizerDateDateNanosUnionTypes = new TestPlannerOptimizer(EsqlTestUtils.TEST_CFG, makeAnalyzer(indexWithUnionTypedFields));
@@ -2334,7 +2378,14 @@ public void testVerifierOnMissingReferences() throws Exception {
         // emulate a rule that adds a missing attribute
         FieldAttribute missingAttr = getFieldAttribute("missing attr");
         List<Order> orders = List.of(new Order(plan.source(), missingAttr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.FIRST));
-        TopNExec topNExec = new TopNExec(plan.source(), plan, orders, new Literal(Source.EMPTY, limit, INTEGER), randomEstimatedRowSize());
+        TopNExec topNExec = new TopNExec(
+            plan.source(),
+            plan,
+            orders,
+            new Literal(Source.EMPTY, limit, INTEGER),
+            List.of(),
+            randomEstimatedRowSize()
+        );
 
         // We want to verify that the localOptimize detects the missing attribute.
         // However, it also throws an error in one of the rules before we get to the verifier.
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizerTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
index 8d0c9b01df5d4..4a4a05b0a42c8 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/LogicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.predicate.operator.comparison.NotEquals;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.index.EsIndex;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.index.EsIndexGenerator;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.CombineLimitTopN;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.LiteralsOnTheRight;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.OptimizerRules;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.logical.PruneRedundantOrderBy;
@@ -1065,6 +1066,50 @@ public void testCombineLimits() {
         );
     }
 
+    public void testCombineLimitTopNSameGroupings() {
+        var attr = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        var groupings = List.<Expression>of(attr);
+        var order = List.of(new Order(EMPTY, attr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, null));
+        var topN = new TopN(EMPTY, emptySource(), order, L(5), groupings, false);
+        var limit = new Limit(EMPTY, L(10), topN, groupings);
+        var result = new CombineLimitTopN().rule(limit);
+        var resultTopN = as(result, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(resultTopN.limit(), equalTo(L(5)));
+        assertThat(resultTopN.groupings(), equalTo(groupings));
+    }
+
+    public void testCombineLimitTopNDifferentGroupings() {
+        var attr = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        var groupings = List.<Expression>of(attr);
+        var order = List.of(new Order(EMPTY, attr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, null));
+        var topN = new TopN(EMPTY, emptySource(), order, L(5), groupings, false);
+        var limit = new Limit(EMPTY, L(10), topN);
+        var result = new CombineLimitTopN().rule(limit);
+        var resultLimit = as(result, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(resultLimit.limit(), equalTo(L(10)));
+        var childTopN = as(resultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(childTopN.groupings(), equalTo(groupings));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * When Limit and TopN have semantically equal groupings (same logical attribute, different expression instances),
+     * the rule should still combine them. Ensures Expressions.semanticEquals(List, List) is used.
+     */
+    public void testCombineLimitTopNSemanticallyEqualGroupings() {
+        var attr = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        var topNGroupings = List.<Expression>of(attr);
+        var limitGroupings = List.<Expression>of(
+            new ReferenceAttribute(EMPTY, null, attr.name(), attr.dataType(), attr.nullable(), attr.id(), false)
+        );
+        var source = emptySource();
+        var topN = new TopN(EMPTY, source, List.of(new Order(EMPTY, attr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, null)), L(5), topNGroupings, false);
+        var limit = new Limit(EMPTY, L(10), topN, limitGroupings);
+        var result = new CombineLimitTopN().rule(limit);
+        var resultTopN = as(result, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(resultTopN.limit(), equalTo(L(5)));
+        assertThat(resultTopN.child(), equalTo(source));
+    }
+
     public void testPushdownLimitsPastLeftJoin() {
         var rule = new PushDownAndCombineLimits();
 
@@ -9866,6 +9911,342 @@ public void testPushDownLimitInForkPastEvalAndMvExpand() {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with a plain attribute should not introduce any synthetic EVAL.
+     * The plan should be the same as the existing testTopNWithGroupingsPlan.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsPlan() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings(), everyItem(instanceOf(FieldAttribute.class)));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().getFirst(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(groupKey.synthetic(), equalTo(false));
+        assertThat(groupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        var esRelation = as(groupedTopN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+        assertThat(esRelation.indexPattern(), equalTo("employees"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with an expression should extract the expression into a synthetic EVAL.
+     * {@code FROM employees | SORT salary | LIMIT 2 BY languages * 2}
+     * becomes
+     * {@code Project | TopN[groupings=[$$limit_by_ref]] | Eval[$$limit_by = languages * 2] | EsRelation}
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        // Project hides the synthetic eval attribute
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        // TopN has the synthetic attribute as grouping
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().getFirst(), ReferenceAttribute.class);
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        // Eval computes the expression
+        var eval = as(groupedTopN.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.toAttribute().id(), equalTo(groupKey.id()));
+        assertThat(alias.child(), instanceOf(Mul.class));
+
+        as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with a mix of attributes and expressions should only extract the expression.
+     * {@code FROM employees | SORT salary | LIMIT 2 BY languages, salary * 2}
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages, salary * 2
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(2));
+
+        // First grouping is a plain attribute -- no extraction needed
+        var firstGroupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().get(0), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(firstGroupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        // Second grouping is a synthetic reference attribute
+        var secondGroupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().get(1), ReferenceAttribute.class);
+
+        // Eval only computes the expression for the second grouping
+        var eval = as(groupedTopN.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.toAttribute().id(), equalTo(secondGroupKey.id()));
+        assertThat(alias.child(), instanceOf(Mul.class));
+
+        as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * All groupings are foldable -- the LIMIT BY degenerates to a plain LIMIT (TopN with no groupings).
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY 20 * 5, 10
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        // No Project wrapper needed -- no synthetic eval was created
+        var topN = as(plan, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(0));
+        var limit = as(topN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        as(topN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Mixed foldable and attribute groupings: the foldable one (42) is pruned, the attribute (languages) remains.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages, 42
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        // No Project wrapper -- the remaining grouping is a plain attribute, no eval needed
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(topN.groupings().getFirst(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(groupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+        var limit = as(topN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        as(topN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Mixed foldable and expression groupings: the foldable (42) is pruned, the expression (languages * 2) is extracted to eval.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, 42
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        // Project hides the synthetic eval attribute
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(topN.groupings().getFirst(), ReferenceAttribute.class);
+
+        // Eval computes the expression
+        var eval = as(topN.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.toAttribute().id(), equalTo(groupKey.id()));
+
+        as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings(), everyItem(instanceOf(FieldAttribute.class)));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().getFirst(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(groupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        var esRelation = as(groupedTopN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+        assertThat(esRelation.indexPattern(), equalTo("employees"));
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | KEEP emp_no, salary, languages
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        var projections = project.projections();
+        assertThat(projections.size(), equalTo(3));
+        assertThat(projections.get(0).name(), equalTo("emp_no"));
+        assertThat(projections.get(1).name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(projections.get(2).name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings(), everyItem(instanceOf(FieldAttribute.class)));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().getFirst(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(groupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        var esRelation = as(groupedTopN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+        assertThat(esRelation.indexPattern(), equalTo("employees"));
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | KEEP emp_no, salary, languages, job
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, job
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        var projections = project.projections();
+        assertThat(projections.size(), equalTo(4));
+        assertThat(projections.get(0).name(), equalTo("emp_no"));
+        assertThat(projections.get(1).name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(projections.get(2).name(), equalTo("languages"));
+        assertThat(projections.get(3).name(), equalTo("job"));
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(2));
+        var firstGroupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().get(0), ReferenceAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(firstGroupKey.synthetic(), equalTo(false));
+        var secondGroupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().get(1), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(secondGroupKey.synthetic(), equalTo(false));
+        assertThat(secondGroupKey.field().getName(), equalTo("job"));
+
+        var eval = as(groupedTopN.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.toAttribute().id(), equalTo(firstGroupKey.id()));
+        as(alias.child(), Mul.class);
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        var esRelation = as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+        assertThat(esRelation.indexPattern(), equalTo("employees"));
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan() {
+        var query = """
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY [employees].[languages]
+            """;
+
+        var plan = optimizedPlan(query);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var groupedTopN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        var limit = as(groupedTopN.limit(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(limit.value(), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.order().size(), equalTo(1));
+
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings(), everyItem(instanceOf(FieldAttribute.class)));
+        assertThat(groupedTopN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        var groupKey = as(groupedTopN.groupings().getFirst(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(groupKey.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var order = as(groupedTopN.order().getFirst(), Order.class);
+        var orderAttr = as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(orderAttr.name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+
+        var esRelation = as(groupedTopN.child(), EsRelation.class);
+        assertThat(esRelation.indexPattern(), equalTo("employees"));
+    }
+
     /**
      * <pre>{@code
      * Limit[1000[INTEGER],false,false]
@@ -10363,6 +10744,311 @@ public void testCombineOrderByThroughRegisteredDomain() {
         as(registeredDomain.child(), EsRelation.class);
     }
 
+    public void testLimitByPruneIdenticalLimits() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no
+            | LIMIT 2 BY emp_no
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var limit = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+    }
+
+    public void testLimitByKeepDifferentGroupings() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no
+            | LIMIT 1 BY first_name
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var limit1 = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(limit1.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit1.groupings()), contains("first_name"));
+        var limit2 = as(limit1.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(limit2.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit2.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+    }
+
+    public void testLimitByKeepNoGroupings() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no
+            | LIMIT 2
+            | LIMIT 2 BY emp_no
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(2));
+        var limit = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+        var limit2 = as(limit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(limit2.groupings(), empty());
+        var limit3 = as(limit2.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit3.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+    }
+
+    public void testLimitByKeepSimilarTopNDifferentGrouping() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | SORT first_name
+            | LIMIT 2
+            | SORT first_name
+            | LIMIT 2 BY emp_no
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(2));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(topN.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+        var topN2 = as(topN.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN2.groupings(), empty());
+    }
+
+    public void testLimitByLimitNotPropagatedToLimitBy() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | SORT first_name
+            | LIMIT 5 BY emp_no
+            | SORT first_name
+            | LIMIT 10
+            """);
+
+        var topN = as(plan, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings(), empty());
+        assertThat(((Literal) topN.limit()).value(), equalTo(10));
+        var topN2 = as(topN.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(topN2.groupings()), contains("emp_no"));
+        assertThat(((Literal) topN2.limit()).value(), equalTo(5));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * TopN[[Order[x{r}#4200,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[g{r}#4202],false]
+     * \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#4200, g{r}#4202],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]],
+     *   IntArrayBlock[positions=1, mvOrdering=DEDUPLICATED_AND_SORTED_ASCENDING, vector=IntArrayVector[positions=3, values=[10, 20, 30]]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testMvConstantLimitByWithWhere() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY g
+            | WHERE MV_CONTAINS(g, 20)
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * LocalRelation[[x{r}#7750, g{r}#7752],EMPTY]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testMvConstantLimitByWithWhereFiltered() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY g
+            | WHERE g == 20
+            """);
+
+        var localRelation = as(plan, LocalRelation.class);
+        assertThat(localRelation.hasEmptySupplier(), equalTo(true));
+
+        assertWarnings(
+            "No limit defined, adding default limit of [1000]",
+            "Line 4:9: evaluation of [g == 20] failed, treating result as null. Only first 20 failures recorded.",
+            "Line 4:9: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: single-value function encountered multi-value"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * Eval[[[10, 20, 30][INTEGER] AS h#2321]]
+     * \_TopN[[Order[x{r}#2314,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[g{r}#2316],false]
+     *   \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#2314, g{r}#2316],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]],
+     *     IntArrayBlock[positions=1, mvOrdering=DEDUPLICATED_AND_SORTED_ASCENDING, vector=IntArrayVector[positions=3, values=[10, 20, 30]]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testMvConstantLimitByGroupByEval() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY g
+            | EVAL h = g
+            """);
+
+        var eval = as(plan, Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields(), hasSize(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.name(), equalTo("h"));
+        var literal = as(alias.child(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(literal.value(), equalTo(List.of(10, 20, 30)));
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(eval.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * TopN[[Order[x{r}#1207,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[],false]
+     * \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#1207],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testSingleValueConstantLimitByGroupIsPruned() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY 42
+            """);
+
+        var topN = as(plan, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(0));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * TopN[[Order[x{r}#7201,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[g{r}#7203],false]
+     * \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#7201, g{r}#7203],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]],
+     *   IntArrayBlock[positions=1, mvOrdering=SORTED_ASCENDING, vector=IntArrayVector[positions=3, values=[10, 20, 30]]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testMvConstantLimitByGroupNotPruned() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY g
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * TopN[[Order[x{r}#1703,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[g{r}#1705],false]
+     * \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#1703, g{r}#1705],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]], IntArrayBlo
+     *   ck[positions=1, mvOrdering=DEDUPLICATED_AND_SORTED_ASCENDING, vector=IntArrayVector[positions=3, values=[10, 20, 30]]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testMvAndSingleValueFoldableLimitByGroupings() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1, g = [10, 20, 30]
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY g, 42
+            """);
+
+        var defaultLimit = as(plan, Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(1));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * TopN[[Order[x{r}#5520,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[],false]
+     * \_LocalRelation[[x{r}#5520],Page{blocks=[IntVectorBlock[vector=ConstantIntVector[positions=1, value=1]]]}]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testAllSingleValueFoldableLimitByGroupingsPruned() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            ROW x = 1
+            | SORT x DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY 42, 100
+            """);
+
+        var topN = as(plan, TopN.class);
+        assertThat(topN.groupings().size(), equalTo(0));
+        as(topN.child(), LocalRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * Project[[emp_no{f}#9740]]
+     * \_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+     *   \_Limit[1[INTEGER],[emp_no + 5{r}#9739],false,false]
+     *     \_Eval[[emp_no{f}#9740 + 5[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 5#9739]]
+     *       \_EsRelation[test][_meta_field{f}#9746, emp_no{f}#9740, first_name{f}#..]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testLimitByExpressionMovedToEval() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | KEEP emp_no
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no + 5
+            """);
+
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(project.projections()), contains("emp_no"));
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var limit = as(defaultLimit.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(limit.groupings()), contains("emp_no + 5"));
+        var eval = as(limit.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields(), hasSize(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.name(), equalTo("emp_no + 5"));
+        var add = as(alias.child(), Add.class);
+        var left = as(add.left(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(left.name(), equalTo("emp_no"));
+        var right = as(add.right(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(right.value(), equalTo(5));
+        as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <pre>{@code
+     * Project[[emp_no{f}#5753]]
+     * \_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+     *   \_TopN[[Order[emp_no{f}#5753,DESC,FIRST]],1[INTEGER],[emp_no + 5{r}#5752],false]
+     *     \_Eval[[emp_no{f}#5753 + 5[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 5#5752]]
+     *       \_EsRelation[test][_meta_field{f}#5759, emp_no{f}#5753, first_name{f}#..]
+     * }</pre>
+     */
+    public void testLimitByExpressionMovedToEvalTopN() {
+        var plan = plan("""
+            FROM test
+            | KEEP emp_no
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | LIMIT 1 BY emp_no + 5
+            """);
+
+        var project = as(plan, Project.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(project.projections()), contains("emp_no"));
+        var defaultLimit = as(project.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertThat(((Literal) defaultLimit.limit()).value(), equalTo(1000));
+        var topN = as(defaultLimit.child(), TopN.class);
+        assertThat(Expressions.names(topN.groupings()), contains("emp_no + 5"));
+        var eval = as(topN.child(), Eval.class);
+        assertThat(eval.fields(), hasSize(1));
+        var alias = as(eval.fields().getFirst(), Alias.class);
+        assertThat(alias.name(), equalTo("emp_no + 5"));
+        var add = as(alias.child(), Add.class);
+        var left = as(add.left(), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(left.name(), equalTo("emp_no"));
+        var right = as(add.right(), Literal.class);
+        assertThat(right.value(), equalTo(5));
+        as(eval.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
     public void testTopSnippetsQueryMustBeFoldable() {
         VerificationException e = expectThrows(VerificationException.class, () -> plan("""
             FROM test
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/PhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/PhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
index e3a8799a9902d..283a520354cbc 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/PhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/PhysicalPlanOptimizerTests.java
@@ -9711,4 +9711,53 @@ public boolean canUseEqualityOnSyntheticSourceDelegate(FieldAttribute.FieldName
             return value.length() < 4;
         }
     };
+
+    /**
+     * ProjectExec[[first_name{f}#10, last_name{f}#13, salary{f}#14, languages{f}#12]]
+     * \_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#14,DESC,LAST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#12],null]
+     *   \_ExchangeExec[[],false]
+     *     \_FragmentExec[filter=null, estimatedRowSize=0, reducer=[], fragment=[
+     *          TopN[[Order[salary{f}#14,DESC,LAST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#12],false]
+     *     \_EsRelation[test][_meta_field{f}#15, emp_no{f}#9, first_name{f}#10, g..]]]
+     **/
+    public void testSortWithGrouping() {
+        String query = """
+             FROM test
+            | SORT salary DESC NULLS LAST
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            | KEEP first_name, last_name, salary, languages""";
+        PhysicalPlan plan = physicalPlan(query);
+
+        var project = as(plan, ProjectExec.class);
+
+        var topN = as(project.child(), TopNExec.class);
+        assertThat(as(as(topN.limit(), Literal.class).value(), Integer.class), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(topN.groupings(), hasSize(1));
+        var fieldAttr = as(topN.groupings().get(0), FieldAttribute.class);
+        assertThat(fieldAttr.name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var topNOrder = topN.order();
+        assertThat(topNOrder.size(), equalTo(1));
+        var order = as(topNOrder.get(0), Order.class);
+        assertThat(as(order.child(), FieldAttribute.class).name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(order.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+        assertThat(order.nullsPosition(), equalTo(Order.NullsPosition.LAST));
+
+        var exchangeExec = as(topN.child(), ExchangeExec.class);
+        var fragmentExec = as(exchangeExec.child(), FragmentExec.class);
+        var topNFragment = as(fragmentExec.fragment(), TopN.class);
+
+        assertThat(as(as(topNFragment.limit(), Literal.class).value(), Integer.class), equalTo(5));
+        assertThat(topNFragment.groupings(), hasSize(1));
+        assertThat(as(topNFragment.groupings().get(0), FieldAttribute.class).name(), equalTo("languages"));
+
+        var topNFragmentOrder = topNFragment.order();
+        assertThat(topNFragmentOrder.size(), equalTo(1));
+        var fragmentOrder = as(topNFragmentOrder.get(0), Order.class);
+        assertThat(as(fragmentOrder.child(), FieldAttribute.class).name(), equalTo("salary"));
+        assertThat(fragmentOrder.direction(), equalTo(Order.OrderDirection.DESC));
+        assertThat(fragmentOrder.nullsPosition(), equalTo(Order.NullsPosition.LAST));
+
+        as(topNFragment.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimitsTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimitsTests.java
index 0a45e4d41f5de..2509bb2299094 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimitsTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/logical/PushDownAndCombineLimitsTests.java
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.common.lucene.BytesRefs;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Alias;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Attribute;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Expression;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.FieldAttribute;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.Literal;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.core.expression.ReferenceAttribute;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.Order;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.function.scalar.convert.ToInteger;
 import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.expression.predicate.operator.comparison.Equals;
@@ -259,6 +261,55 @@ public void testPushableLimitDuplicate() {
         }
     }
 
+    public void testCombineLimitsWithSameGroupings() {
+        FieldAttribute a = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        FieldAttribute b = getFieldAttribute("b");
+        EsRelation relation = relation().withAttributes(List.of(a, b));
+        List<Expression> groupings = List.of(a);
+
+        Limit innerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 10, INTEGER), relation, groupings);
+        Limit outerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 5, INTEGER), innerLimit, groupings);
+
+        Limit optimized = as(optimizePlan(outerLimit), Limit.class);
+        assertEquals(5, ((Literal) optimized.limit()).value());
+        assertEquals(groupings, optimized.groupings());
+        as(optimized.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    public void testDoNotCombineLimitsWithDifferentGroupings() {
+        FieldAttribute a = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        FieldAttribute b = getFieldAttribute("b");
+        EsRelation relation = relation().withAttributes(List.of(a, b));
+
+        Limit innerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 5, INTEGER), relation, List.of(b));
+        Limit outerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 5, INTEGER), innerLimit, List.of(a));
+
+        Limit optimized = as(optimizePlan(outerLimit), Limit.class);
+        assertEquals(List.of(a), optimized.groupings());
+        Limit child = as(optimized.child(), Limit.class);
+        assertEquals(List.of(b), child.groupings());
+        as(child.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
+    public void testCombineLimitsWithSemanticallyEqualGroupings() {
+        FieldAttribute a = getFieldAttribute("a");
+        FieldAttribute b = getFieldAttribute("b");
+        EsRelation relation = relation().withAttributes(List.of(a, b));
+        // Semantically equal to a
+        ReferenceAttribute aSameId = new ReferenceAttribute(EMPTY, null, a.name(), a.dataType(), a.nullable(), a.id(), false);
+        assertTrue(a.semanticEquals(aSameId));
+        assertNotEquals(List.of(a), List.of(aSameId));
+
+        Limit innerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 10, INTEGER), relation, List.of(a));
+        Limit outerLimit = new Limit(EMPTY, new Literal(EMPTY, 5, INTEGER), innerLimit, List.of(aSameId));
+
+        Limit optimized = as(optimizePlan(outerLimit), Limit.class);
+        assertEquals(5, ((Literal) optimized.limit()).value());
+        assertEquals(1, optimized.groupings().size());
+        assertTrue(optimized.groupings().get(0).semanticEquals(a));
+        as(optimized.child(), EsRelation.class);
+    }
+
     private LogicalPlan optimizePlan(LogicalPlan plan) {
         return new PushDownAndCombineLimits().apply(plan, unboundLogicalOptimizerContext());
     }
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/LimitByGoldenTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/LimitByGoldenTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..ff3a105493889
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/LimitByGoldenTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and/or licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License
+ * 2.0; you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License
+ * 2.0.
+ */
+
+package org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.rules.physical.local;
+
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.EsqlTestUtils;
+import org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.optimizer.GoldenTestCase;
+
+import java.util.EnumSet;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import static org.elasticsearch.xpack.esql.type.EsqlDataTypeConverter.dateTimeToLong;
+
+public class LimitByGoldenTests extends GoldenTestCase {
+
+    public void testLimitBy() {
+        runGoldenTest(
+            """
+                FROM employees
+                | SORT salary
+                | LIMIT 2 BY languages
+                """,
+            // TODO Nacho There seems to be a bug here in the physical optimization
+            EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION, Stage.PHYSICAL_OPTIMIZATION, Stage.LOCAL_PHYSICAL_OPTIMIZATION),
+            STATS
+        );
+    }
+
+    public void testLimitByWithoutSort() {
+        runGoldenTest(
+            """
+                FROM employees
+                | LIMIT 5 BY emp_no + 4, languages
+                """,
+            EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION, Stage.PHYSICAL_OPTIMIZATION, Stage.LOCAL_PHYSICAL_OPTIMIZATION),
+            STATS
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with a plain attribute should not introduce any synthetic EVAL.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsPlan() {
+        runGoldenTest(
+            """
+                FROM employees
+                | SORT salary DESC
+                | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+                """,
+            // TODO Do we need to test the physical optimization in this and the cases onwards?
+            EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION),
+            STATS
+        );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with an expression should extract the expression into a synthetic EVAL.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * LIMIT BY with a mix of attributes and expressions should only extract the expression.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages, salary * 2
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * All groupings are foldable -- the LIMIT BY degenerates to a plain LIMIT (TopN with no groupings).
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY 20 * 5, 10
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Mixed foldable and attribute groupings: the foldable one (42) is pruned, the attribute (languages) remains.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages, 42
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Mixed foldable and expression groupings: the foldable (42) is pruned, the expression (languages * 2) is extracted to eval.
+     */
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, 42
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | KEEP emp_no, salary, languages
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT emp_no DESC
+            | KEEP emp_no, salary, languages, gender
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, gender
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    public void testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan() {
+        runGoldenTest("""
+            FROM employees
+            | SORT salary DESC
+            | LIMIT 5 BY [employees].[languages]
+            """, EnumSet.of(Stage.ANALYSIS, Stage.LOGICAL_OPTIMIZATION), STATS);
+    }
+
+    private static final EsqlTestUtils.TestSearchStatsWithMinMax STATS = new EsqlTestUtils.TestSearchStatsWithMinMax(
+        Map.of("date", dateTimeToLong("2023-10-20T12:15:03.360Z")),
+        Map.of("date", dateTimeToLong("2023-10-23T13:55:01.543Z"))
+    );
+}
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSourceTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSourceTests.java
index 80619b44a086a..0621087837164 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSourceTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/PushTopNToSourceTests.java
@@ -736,7 +736,14 @@ public TopNExec build() {
             if (aliases.isEmpty() == false) {
                 child = new EvalExec(Source.EMPTY, child, aliases);
             }
-            return new TopNExec(Source.EMPTY, child, orders, new Literal(Source.EMPTY, limit, INTEGER), randomEstimatedRowSize());
+            return new TopNExec(
+                Source.EMPTY,
+                child,
+                orders,
+                new Literal(Source.EMPTY, limit, INTEGER),
+                List.of(),
+                randomEstimatedRowSize()
+            );
         }
 
         public TestPhysicalPlanBuilder asTimeSeries() {
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopNSerializationTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopNSerializationTests.java
index ff620e79c57fa..0e3e09d038f78 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopNSerializationTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/logical/TopNSerializationTests.java
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ public static TopN randomTopN(int depth) {
         LogicalPlan child = randomChild(depth);
         List<Order> order = randomOrders();
         Expression limit = AbstractExpressionSerializationTests.randomChild();
-        return new TopN(source, child, order, limit, randomBoolean());
+        List<Expression> groupings = randomFieldAttributes(0, 5, false).stream().map(a -> (Expression) a).toList();
+        return new TopN(source, child, order, limit, groupings, randomBoolean());
     }
 
     private static List<Order> randomOrders() {
@@ -42,13 +43,18 @@ protected TopN mutateInstance(TopN instance) throws IOException {
         List<Order> order = instance.order();
         Expression limit = instance.limit();
         boolean local = instance.local();
-        switch (between(0, 3)) {
+        List<Expression> groupings = instance.groupings();
+        switch (between(0, 4)) {
             case 0 -> child = randomValueOtherThan(child, () -> randomChild(0));
             case 1 -> order = randomValueOtherThan(order, TopNSerializationTests::randomOrders);
             case 2 -> limit = randomValueOtherThan(limit, AbstractExpressionSerializationTests::randomChild);
             case 3 -> local = local == false;
+            case 4 -> groupings = randomValueOtherThan(
+                groupings,
+                () -> randomFieldAttributes(0, 5, false).stream().map(a -> (Expression) a).toList()
+            );
         }
-        return new TopN(source, child, order, limit, local);
+        return new TopN(source, child, order, limit, groupings, local);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/ExchangeSinkExecSerializationTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/ExchangeSinkExecSerializationTests.java
index aa7b3f1152d6d..679b126238734 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/ExchangeSinkExecSerializationTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/ExchangeSinkExecSerializationTests.java
@@ -88,8 +88,9 @@ public void testManyTypeConflicts() throws IOException {
          *  1026343b - added time series field type to EsField  #129649
          *  1033593b - added qualifier back to FieldAttribute #132925
          *  1033595b - added split indices to EsRelation #138396
+         *  1033596b - added groupings to topN #140019
          */
-        testManyTypeConflicts(false, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(1033595));
+        testManyTypeConflicts(false, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(1033596));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -111,8 +112,9 @@ public void testManyTypeConflictsWithParent() throws IOException {
          *  1971523b - added time series field type to EsField  #129649
          *  1986023b - added qualifier back to FieldAttribute #132925
          *  1986025b - added split indices to EsRelation #138396
+         *  1986026b - added groupings to topN #140019
          */
-        testManyTypeConflicts(true, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(1986025));
+        testManyTypeConflicts(true, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(1986026));
     }
 
     private void testManyTypeConflicts(boolean withParent, ByteSizeValue expected) throws IOException {
@@ -136,13 +138,14 @@ public void testDeeplyNestedFields() throws IOException {
          *  43665025b - added time series field type to EsField  #129649
          *  43927169b - added qualifier back to FieldAttribute #132925
          *  43927171b - added split indices to EsRelation #138396
+         *  43927172b - added groupings to topN #140019
          */
 
         int depth = 6;
         int childrenPerLevel = 8;
 
         EsIndex index = deeplyNestedIndex(depth, childrenPerLevel);
-        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(43927171L));
+        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(43927172L));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -161,13 +164,14 @@ public void testDeeplyNestedFieldsKeepOnlyOne() throws IOException {
          *  351b - added time series field type to EsField  #129649
          *  352b - added qualifier back to FieldAttribute #132925
          *  354b - added split indices to EsRelation #138396
+         *  355b - added groupings to topN #140019
          */
 
         int depth = 6;
         int childrenPerLevel = 9;
 
         EsIndex index = deeplyNestedIndex(depth, childrenPerLevel);
-        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(354), false);
+        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(355), false);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -180,6 +184,7 @@ public void testIndexPatternTargetingMultipleIndices() throws IOException {
          * History:
          * 4996b - initial
          * 4998b - added split indices to EsRelation #138396
+         * 4999b - added groupings to topN #140019
          */
 
         var index = EsIndexGenerator.esIndex(
@@ -189,7 +194,7 @@ public void testIndexPatternTargetingMultipleIndices() throws IOException {
                 .mapToObj(i -> "partial-.ds-index-service-logs-2025.01.01-000" + i)
                 .collect(toMap(Function.identity(), i -> IndexMode.STANDARD))
         );
-        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(4998));
+        testSerializePlanWithIndex(index, ByteSizeValue.ofBytes(4999));
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExecSerializationTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExecSerializationTests.java
index 7a65edef94eb8..c9cddf8624c7f 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExecSerializationTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plan/physical/TopNExecSerializationTests.java
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ public static TopNExec randomTopNExec(int depth) {
         List<Order> order = randomList(1, 10, OrderSerializationTests::randomOrder);
         Expression limit = new Literal(randomSource(), randomNonNegativeInt(), DataType.INTEGER);
         Integer estimatedRowSize = randomEstimatedRowSize();
-        return new TopNExec(source, child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize);
+        List<Expression> groupings = randomFieldAttributes(0, 5, false).stream().map(a -> (Expression) a).toList();
+        return new TopNExec(source, child, order, limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -39,9 +40,10 @@ protected TopNExec mutateInstance(TopNExec instance) throws IOException {
         List<Order> order = instance.order();
         Expression limit = instance.limit();
         Integer estimatedRowSize = instance.estimatedRowSize();
+        List<Expression> groupings = instance.groupings();
         InputOrdering inputOrdering = instance.inputOrdering();
 
-        switch (between(0, 4)) {
+        switch (between(0, 5)) {
             case 0 -> child = randomValueOtherThan(child, () -> randomChild(0));
             case 1 -> order = randomValueOtherThan(order, () -> randomList(1, 10, OrderSerializationTests::randomOrder));
             case 2 -> limit = randomValueOtherThan(limit, () -> new Literal(randomSource(), randomNonNegativeInt(), DataType.INTEGER));
@@ -49,10 +51,14 @@ protected TopNExec mutateInstance(TopNExec instance) throws IOException {
                 estimatedRowSize,
                 AbstractPhysicalPlanSerializationTests::randomEstimatedRowSize
             );
-            case 4 -> inputOrdering = (inputOrdering == InputOrdering.SORTED ? InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED : InputOrdering.SORTED);
+            case 4 -> groupings = randomValueOtherThan(
+                groupings,
+                () -> randomFieldAttributes(0, 5, false).stream().map(a -> (Expression) a).toList()
+            );
+            case 5 -> inputOrdering = (inputOrdering == InputOrdering.SORTED ? InputOrdering.NOT_SORTED : InputOrdering.SORTED);
             default -> throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
         }
-        var result = new TopNExec(instance.source(), child, order, limit, estimatedRowSize);
+        var result = new TopNExec(instance.source(), child, order, limit, groupings, estimatedRowSize);
         return inputOrdering == InputOrdering.SORTED ? result.withSortedInput() : result.withNonSortedInput();
     }
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/AdaptiveStrategyTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/AdaptiveStrategyTests.java
index 24bb81fcc434a..bbfc0cf78128e 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/AdaptiveStrategyTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/AdaptiveStrategyTests.java
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ public void testTopNWithMultipleSplitsDistributes() {
         PhysicalPlan source = createExternalSourceExec();
         Literal limitExpr = new Literal(Source.EMPTY, 10, DataType.INTEGER);
         Order order = new Order(Source.EMPTY, limitExpr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.LAST);
-        PhysicalPlan planWithTopN = new TopNExec(Source.EMPTY, source, List.of(order), limitExpr, null);
+        PhysicalPlan planWithTopN = new TopNExec(Source.EMPTY, source, List.of(order), limitExpr, List.of(), null);
 
         ExternalDistributionContext context = new ExternalDistributionContext(
             planWithTopN,
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/ExternalDistributionTests.java b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/ExternalDistributionTests.java
index abe2aee476c46..057610139a99d 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/ExternalDistributionTests.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/plugin/ExternalDistributionTests.java
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ public void testMapperInsertsExchangeForTopNAboveExternalSource() {
         ExternalRelation external = createExternalRelation();
         Attribute nameAttr = external.output().get(0);
         Order order = new Order(SRC, nameAttr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.LAST);
-        TopN topN = new TopN(SRC, external, List.of(order), new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER), false);
+        TopN topN = new TopN(SRC, external, List.of(order), new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER), List.of(), false);
 
         Mapper mapper = new Mapper();
         PhysicalPlan physicalPlan = mapper.map(new Versioned<>(topN, TransportVersion.current()));
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ public void testLocalPlanExpandsTopNFragmentContainsExternalSource() {
         ExternalRelation external = createExternalRelation();
         Attribute nameAttr = external.output().get(0);
         Order order = new Order(SRC, nameAttr, Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.LAST);
-        TopN topN = new TopN(SRC, external, List.of(order), new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER), false);
+        TopN topN = new TopN(SRC, external, List.of(order), new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER), List.of(), false);
         FragmentExec fragment = new FragmentExec(topN);
         ExchangeSinkExec sink = new ExchangeSinkExec(SRC, external.output(), false, fragment);
 
@@ -475,6 +475,7 @@ public void testCollapseResetsTopNInputOrdering() {
             external,
             List.of(new Order(SRC, external.output().get(0), Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.LAST)),
             new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER),
+            List.of(),
             false
         );
         FragmentExec fragment = new FragmentExec(topN);
@@ -484,6 +485,7 @@ public void testCollapseResetsTopNInputOrdering() {
             exchange,
             List.of(new Order(SRC, external.output().get(0), Order.OrderDirection.ASC, Order.NullsPosition.LAST)),
             new Literal(SRC, 10, DataType.INTEGER),
+            List.of(),
             null
         ).withSortedInput();
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..919a27bdb9cd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,ASC,LAST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/local_physical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/local_physical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8a1d71f6a1de7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/local_physical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+LimitExec[1000[INTEGER],[],null]
+\_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#0,ASC,LAST]],2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],null]
+  \_ExchangeExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22],false]
+    \_ProjectExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+      \_FieldExtractExec[avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]<[],[]>
+        \_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#0,ASC,LAST]],2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],376]
+          \_FieldExtractExec[salary{f}#0, languages{f}#1]<[],[]>
+            \_EsQueryExec[employees], indexMode[standard], [_doc{f}#23], limit[], sort[] estimatedRowSize[12] queryBuilderAndTags [[QueryBuilderAndTags[query=null, tags=[]]]]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1d6357418cce6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,ASC,LAST]],2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/physical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/physical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8f30f6178891e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/physical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+LimitExec[1000[INTEGER],[],null]
+\_TopNExec[[Order[salary{f}#0,ASC,LAST]],2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],null]
+  \_ExchangeExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22],false]
+    \_FragmentExec[filter=null, estimatedRowSize=0, reducer=[], fragment=[<>
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,ASC,LAST]],2[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]<>]]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3fbe4a880cb8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitBy/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary
+| LIMIT 2 BY languages
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..bae2a7f2218ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[emp_no{f}#0 + 4[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 4#1, languages{f}#2],false,false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#0, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#2, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#18, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/local_physical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/local_physical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..62f2ebe1b50d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/local_physical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+ProjectExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_LimitExec[1000[INTEGER],[],null]
+  \_LimitExec[5[INTEGER],[emp_no + 4{r}#23, languages{f}#12],null]
+    \_ExchangeExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22, emp_no + 4{r}#23],false]
+      \_ProjectExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22, emp_no + 4{r}#23]]
+        \_FieldExtractExec[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]<[],[]>
+          \_LimitExec[5[INTEGER],[emp_no + 4{r}#23, languages{f}#12],32]
+            \_FieldExtractExec[languages{f}#12]<[],[]>
+              \_EvalExec[[emp_no{f}#2 + 4[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 4#23]]
+                \_FieldExtractExec[emp_no{f}#2]<[],[]>
+                  \_EsQueryExec[employees], indexMode[standard], [_doc{f}#24], limit[], sort[] estimatedRowSize[364] queryBuilderAndTags [[QueryBuilderAndTags[query=null, tags=[]]]]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6e6ec4d58c676
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_Limit[5[INTEGER],[emp_no + 4{r}#23, languages{f}#12],false,false]
+    \_Eval[[emp_no{f}#2 + 4[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 4#23]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/physical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/physical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e69e4b79dee98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/physical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+ProjectExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_LimitExec[1000[INTEGER],[],null]
+  \_LimitExec[5[INTEGER],[emp_no + 4{r}#23, languages{f}#12],null]
+    \_ExchangeExec[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22, emp_no + 4{r}#23],false]
+      \_FragmentExec[filter=null, estimatedRowSize=0, reducer=[], fragment=[<>
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22, emp_no + 4{r}#23]]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[emp_no + 4{r}#23, languages{f}#12],false,false]
+  \_Eval[[emp_no{f}#2 + 4[INTEGER] AS emp_no + 4#23]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]<>]]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..41e8023b810db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testLimitByWithoutSort/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+FROM employees
+| LIMIT 5 BY emp_no + 4, languages
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7f97b0bf5d764
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#1, gender{f}#2],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#3,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_Project[[emp_no{f}#4, salary{f}#3, languages{f}#0, gender{f}#2]]
+      \_OrderBy[[Order[emp_no{f}#4,DESC,FIRST]]]
+        \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#5, birth_date{f}#6, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#7, gender{f}#2, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#15, languages.long{f}#16, languages.short{f}#17, last_name{f}#18, salary{f}#3, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c26c59646532a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Project[[emp_no{f}#0, salary{f}#1, languages{f}#2, gender{f}#3]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages * 2{r}#4, gender{f}#3],false]
+    \_Eval[[languages{f}#2 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#4]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#5, birth_date{f}#6, emp_no{f}#0, first_name{f}#7, gender{f}#3, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#2, languages.byte{f}#15, languages.long{f}#16, languages.short{f}#17, last_name{f}#18, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c77d2b984b091
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithEvalAndNonEvalGroupings/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| KEEP emp_no, salary, languages, gender
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, gender
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9314cc3a4e748
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_Project[[emp_no{f}#2, salary{f}#1, languages{f}#0]]
+      \_OrderBy[[Order[emp_no{f}#2,DESC,FIRST]]]
+        \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5ccb16ad41812
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Project[[emp_no{f}#0, salary{f}#1, languages{f}#2]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#2],false]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#0, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#2, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..f122f03375e18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndNonContiguousSorts/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| KEEP emp_no, salary, languages
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..f3f156d50f838
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_OrderBy[[Order[emp_no{f}#2,DESC,FIRST]]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7d1dc3abbf0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..578c0b64cf671
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsAndSeveralSorts/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT emp_no DESC
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..fe52ef3518d9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[20[INTEGER] * 5[INTEGER] AS 20 * 5#0, 10[INTEGER] AS 10#1],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#2,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#5, first_name{f}#6, gender{f}#7, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#15, languages.byte{f}#16, languages.long{f}#17, languages.short{f}#18, last_name{f}#19, salary{f}#2, salary_change{f}#20, salary_change.int{f}#21, salary_change.keyword{f}#22, salary_change.long{f}#23, still_hired{f}#24]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c2eda4efc3550
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[],false]
+\_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#1, birth_date{f}#2, emp_no{f}#3, first_name{f}#4, gender{f}#5, height{f}#6, height.float{f}#7, height.half_float{f}#8, height.scaled_float{f}#9, hire_date{f}#10, is_rehired{f}#11, job_positions{f}#12, languages{f}#13, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..68dd6d8ab1928
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsByConstant/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY 20 * 5, 10
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5d65906014289
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#1],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#2,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#5, first_name{f}#6, gender{f}#7, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#15, languages.long{f}#16, languages.short{f}#17, last_name{f}#18, salary{f}#2, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1b1cc0f676503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#17,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages * 2{r}#23],false]
+    \_Eval[[languages{f}#12 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#23]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..2017ce3c65d52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsExpressionPlan/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..05a9c276d56a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0, 42[INTEGER] AS 42#1],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#2,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#5, first_name{f}#6, gender{f}#7, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#15, languages.long{f}#16, languages.short{f}#17, last_name{f}#18, salary{f}#2, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7d1dc3abbf0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4d65e3a8fbedc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndAttribute/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages, 42
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d2845496cdab0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#1, 42[INTEGER] AS 42#2],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#3,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#4, birth_date{f}#5, emp_no{f}#6, first_name{f}#7, gender{f}#8, height{f}#9, height.float{f}#10, height.half_float{f}#11, height.scaled_float{f}#12, hire_date{f}#13, is_rehired{f}#14, job_positions{f}#15, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#16, languages.long{f}#17, languages.short{f}#18, last_name{f}#19, salary{f}#3, salary_change{f}#20, salary_change.int{f}#21, salary_change.keyword{f}#22, salary_change.long{f}#23, still_hired{f}#24]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1b1cc0f676503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#17,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages * 2{r}#23],false]
+    \_Eval[[languages{f}#12 * 2[INTEGER] AS languages * 2#23]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a501b6df92109
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedFoldableAndExpression/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages * 2, 42
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..fb832aeb4d2b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0, salary{f}#1 * 2[INTEGER] AS salary * 2#2],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#3, birth_date{f}#4, emp_no{f}#5, first_name{f}#6, gender{f}#7, height{f}#8, height.float{f}#9, height.half_float{f}#10, height.scaled_float{f}#11, hire_date{f}#12, is_rehired{f}#13, job_positions{f}#14, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#15, languages.long{f}#16, languages.short{f}#17, last_name{f}#18, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#19, salary_change.int{f}#20, salary_change.keyword{f}#21, salary_change.long{f}#22, still_hired{f}#23]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9d629c1130e5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+Project[[avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]]
+\_Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+  \_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#17,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#12, salary * 2{r}#23],false]
+    \_Eval[[salary{f}#17 * 2[INTEGER] AS salary * 2#23]]
+      \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#0, birth_date{f}#1, emp_no{f}#2, first_name{f}#3, gender{f}#4, height{f}#5, height.float{f}#6, height.half_float{f}#7, height.scaled_float{f}#8, hire_date{f}#9, is_rehired{f}#10, job_positions{f}#11, languages{f}#12, languages.byte{f}#13, languages.long{f}#14, languages.short{f}#15, last_name{f}#16, salary{f}#17, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b41672d802465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsMixedPlan/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages, salary * 2
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e569289a044db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7d1dc3abbf0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..0be5a90aa503d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsPlan/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY languages
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/analysis.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/analysis.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e569289a044db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/analysis.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_Limit[5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#0],false,false]
+  \_OrderBy[[Order[salary{f}#1,DESC,FIRST]]]
+    \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#0, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#1, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/logical_optimization.expected b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/logical_optimization.expected
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7d1dc3abbf0a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/logical_optimization.expected
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Limit[1000[INTEGER],[],false,false]
+\_TopN[[Order[salary{f}#0,DESC,FIRST]],5[INTEGER],[languages{f}#1],false]
+  \_EsRelation[employees][avg_worked_seconds{f}#2, birth_date{f}#3, emp_no{f}#4, first_name{f}#5, gender{f}#6, height{f}#7, height.float{f}#8, height.half_float{f}#9, height.scaled_float{f}#10, hire_date{f}#11, is_rehired{f}#12, job_positions{f}#13, languages{f}#1, languages.byte{f}#14, languages.long{f}#15, languages.short{f}#16, last_name{f}#17, salary{f}#0, salary_change{f}#18, salary_change.int{f}#19, salary_change.keyword{f}#20, salary_change.long{f}#21, still_hired{f}#22]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/query.esql b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/query.esql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d4817043054c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/esql/src/test/resources/org/elasticsearch/xpack/esql/optimizer/rules/physical/local/golden_tests/LimitByGoldenTests/testTopNWithGroupingsQualifiedNamePlan/query.esql
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+FROM employees
+| SORT salary DESC
+| LIMIT 5 BY [employees].[languages]