diff --git a/haystack/components/converters/csv.py b/haystack/components/converters/csv.py
index 9a4a102da5..785bdec00f 100644
--- a/haystack/components/converters/csv.py
+++ b/haystack/components/converters/csv.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 _ROW_MODE_SIZE_WARN_BYTES = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # ~5MB; warn when parsing rows might be memory-heavy
+_RAGGED_ROW_RESTKEY = object()  # Unique sentinel for DictReader restkey to avoid colliding with CSV headers
 
 
 @component
@@ -167,8 +168,9 @@ def run(
                 # ``restkey`` ensures surplus fields on ragged rows (rows with more values than the
                 # header, e.g. an unquoted comma inside a value) land under an explicit string key
                 # instead of the default ``None`` key, which would break ``Document`` id generation.
+                # A private sentinel is used so an actual CSV column named "extra_columns" is not overwritten.
                 reader = csv.DictReader(
-                    io.StringIO(data), delimiter=self.delimiter, quotechar=self.quotechar, restkey="extra_columns"
+                    io.StringIO(data), delimiter=self.delimiter, quotechar=self.quotechar, restkey=_RAGGED_ROW_RESTKEY
                 )
             except Exception as e:
                 raise RuntimeError(f"CSVToDocument(row): could not parse CSV rows for {source}: {e}") from e
@@ -224,7 +226,7 @@ def _build_document_from_row(
         for k, v in row.items():
             if k == content_column:
                 continue
-            key_to_use = k
+            key_to_use = "extra_columns" if k is _RAGGED_ROW_RESTKEY else k
             if key_to_use in row_meta:
                 # Avoid clobbering existing meta like file_path/encoding; prefix and de-dupe
                 base_key = f"csv_{key_to_use}"
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/csv-row-ragged-extra-columns-75c6c07dc1cdc4ff.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/csv-row-ragged-extra-columns-75c6c07dc1cdc4ff.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..be71a82255
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/csv-row-ragged-extra-columns-75c6c07dc1cdc4ff.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Fixed an issue in ``CSVToDocument`` (row mode) where a ragged row with surplus
+    fields overwrote an actual CSV column named ``extra_columns``. A private sentinel
+    is now used for ``DictReader.restkey``, preserving both the original column data
+    and storing surplus fields under collision-safe metadata keys.
diff --git a/test/components/converters/test_csv_to_document.py b/test/components/converters/test_csv_to_document.py
index dfb6afcdd6..76f600b4a3 100644
--- a/test/components/converters/test_csv_to_document.py
+++ b/test/components/converters/test_csv_to_document.py
@@ -243,6 +243,30 @@ def test_row_mode_ragged_row_does_not_crash(self):
         assert None not in ragged_doc.meta
         assert "state" in ragged_doc.meta["extra_columns"]
 
+    def test_row_mode_ragged_row_with_real_extra_columns_column(self):
+        # When a CSV header contains an 'extra_columns' column, ragged rows with
+        # surplus fields must preserve the real column value and place surplus fields
+        # under a collision-prefixed key.
+        source = ByteStream(
+            data=b"text,extra_columns\r\nhello,real value,overflow\r\nregular,normal value\r\n",
+            meta={"file_path": "ragged_extra.csv"},
+        )
+        conv = CSVToDocument(conversion_mode="row")
+        docs = conv.run(sources=[source], content_column="text")["documents"]
+
+        assert len(docs) == 2
+        # Ragged row preserves both the original extra_columns value and the surplus fields under a collision-safe key
+        ragged_doc = docs[0]
+        assert ragged_doc.content == "hello"
+        assert ragged_doc.meta["extra_columns"] == "real value"
+        assert "overflow" in ragged_doc.meta["csv_extra_columns"]
+
+        # Regular row preserves the extra_columns value without adding surplus keys
+        regular_doc = docs[1]
+        assert regular_doc.content == "regular"
+        assert regular_doc.meta["extra_columns"] == "normal value"
+        assert "csv_extra_columns" not in regular_doc.meta
+
     def test_run_utf8_with_bom(self, tmp_path):
         """
         A CSV saved as UTF-8 with a byte order mark must not leak the BOM into the content.