diff --git a/R/KorAPCorpusStats.R b/R/KorAPCorpusStats.R
index fcd77df..6fe44d8 100644
--- a/R/KorAPCorpusStats.R
+++ b/R/KorAPCorpusStats.R
@@ -75,6 +75,9 @@
                                                      verbose = kco@verbose,
                                                      as.df = FALSE) {
   if (length(vc) > 1) {
+    # the names of a named vc vector would end up as row names, which the first
+    # bind_rows() drops, so they are kept as a column instead
+    vcLabel <- vcLabels(vc)
     # ETA calculation for multiple virtual corpora
     total_items <- length(vc)
     start_time <- Sys.time()
@@ -94,6 +97,9 @@
 
       # Process current virtual corpus
       result <- corpusStats(kco, current_vc, verbose = FALSE, as.df = TRUE)
+      if (!is.null(vcLabel)) {
+        result <- tibble::add_column(result, label = vcLabel[i], .after = "vc")
+      }
       results[[i]] <- result
 
       # Record individual processing time
@@ -149,7 +155,9 @@
       ))
     }
 
-    do.call(rbind, results)
+    stats <- do.call(rbind, results)
+    rownames(stats) <- NULL
+    stats
   } else {
     url <-
       paste0(
diff --git a/R/KorAPQuery.R b/R/KorAPQuery.R
index a8372e3..77774c8 100644
--- a/R/KorAPQuery.R
+++ b/R/KorAPQuery.R
@@ -215,14 +215,20 @@
            as.df = FALSE,
            context = NULL) {
     if (length(query) > 1 || length(vc) > 1) {
+      # expand_grid() and tibble() drop the names of vc, so the labels the
+      # caller gave their virtual corpora are carried along as a column
+      vcLabel <- vcLabels(vc)
       grid <- if (expand) expand_grid(query = query, vc = vc) else tibble(query = query, vc = vc)
+      if (!is.null(vcLabel)) {
+        grid$label <- if (expand) rep(vcLabel, times = length(query)) else vcLabel
+      }
 
       # Initialize timing variables for ETA calculation
       total_queries <- nrow(grid)
       current_query <- 0
       start_time <- Sys.time()
 
-      results <- purrr::pmap(grid, function(query, vc, ...) {
+      results <- purrr::pmap(grid, function(query, vc, label = NULL, ...) {
         current_query <<- current_query + 1
 
         # Execute the single query directly (avoiding recursive call)
@@ -297,6 +303,9 @@
           webUIRequestUrl = webUIRequestUrl,
           stringsAsFactors = FALSE
         )
+        if (!is.null(label)) {
+          result <- tibble::add_column(result, label = label, .after = "vc")
+        }
 
         return(result)
       })
diff --git a/R/collocationScoreQuery.R b/R/collocationScoreQuery.R
index a79d72f..6f28bc4 100644
--- a/R/collocationScoreQuery.R
+++ b/R/collocationScoreQuery.R
@@ -125,7 +125,9 @@
             tibble(
               node = node,
               collocate = combinations$collocate,
-              label = queryStringToLabel(vc)[combinations$vc_index],
+              # the names the caller gave their virtual corpora, where there
+              # are any, rather than a label guessed from the definitions
+              label = vcLabelsOrGuess(vc)[combinations$vc_index],
               vc = combinations$vc,
               query = query,
               webUIRequestUrl = if (is.na(observed[1]))
diff --git a/R/misc.R b/R/misc.R
index 6e7340f..e120ea4 100644
--- a/R/misc.R
+++ b/R/misc.R
@@ -162,6 +162,40 @@
   substring(data, leftCommon + 1, nchar(data) - rightCommon)
 }
 
+#' Labels for a vector of virtual corpora
+#'
+#' The names of a named vector are what the caller chose to call their virtual
+#' corpora, so they are what a label should say. Where a vector is named only in
+#' part, [queryStringToLabel()] derives the rest from the definitions.
+#'
+#' @param vc character vector of virtual corpus definitions
+#' @return character vector of labels, or `NULL` if `vc` carries no names at all
+#' @noRd
+vcLabels <- function(vc) {
+  labels <- names(vc)
+  if (is.null(labels)) {
+    return(NULL)
+  }
+  unnamed <- is.na(labels) | !nzchar(labels)
+  if (any(unnamed)) {
+    labels[unnamed] <- queryStringToLabel(vc)[unnamed]
+  }
+  unname(labels)
+}
+
+#' Labels for a vector of virtual corpora, always giving one
+#'
+#' Like [vcLabels()], but falling back to [queryStringToLabel()] where the
+#' vector carries no names, for callers that label unconditionally.
+#'
+#' @param vc character vector of virtual corpus definitions
+#' @return character vector of labels, one per element of `vc`
+#' @noRd
+vcLabelsOrGuess <- function(vc) {
+  labels <- vcLabels(vc)
+  if (is.null(labels)) queryStringToLabel(vc) else labels
+}
+
 
 ## Mute notes: "Undefined global functions or variables:"
 globalVariables(c("conf.high", "conf.low", "onRender", "webUIRequestUrl"))