diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 5731b2d..ff995b0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -307,7 +307,21 @@ jobs:
     # automatically — no `pull_request` round-trip needed for non-fork
     # non-release PRs.
     required-check:
-        name: ✅ Required PR Check
+        # The name is conditional on purpose. On an in-repo feature PR the
+        # `pull_request` run skips this job (the push run owns the status), and
+        # a skipped job still posts a check run under its name. GitHub treats a
+        # SKIPPED required check as satisfied — so if the skipped job were named
+        # `✅ Required PR Check`, it would green-light the ruleset (and enable
+        # auto-merge) while the push run's real mirror hadn't been created yet
+        # (it only appears once `ci` finishes), letting a PR merge mid-test or
+        # even override a red result. An expression name keeps the skipped job
+        # off the required name: GitHub does not evaluate the name of a skipped
+        # job, so it shows up as the raw expression text (still not the
+        # required name), while every path that runs evaluates to
+        # `✅ Required PR Check`. The condition is written out anyway so the
+        # name stays correct if GitHub ever starts evaluating it, and must stay
+        # identical to the `if:` below.
+        name: ${{ (github.event_name != 'pull_request' || github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork == true || github.event.pull_request.head.ref == 'next' || github.event.pull_request.head.ref == 'hotfixes') && '✅ Required PR Check' || '⏭️ Required PR Check (reported by the push run)' }}
         needs: ci
         # Mirror the `ci` job's gating exactly. The four cases that run:
         #   1. push events                                            (job needs CI run)
@@ -315,8 +329,8 @@ jobs:
         #   3. release PRs from `next` → master/main                  (push covers SHA but commit-gate skips chore-bump)
         #   4. release PRs from `hotfixes` → master/main              (same reason)
         # In-repo feature PRs targeting `next` / `hotfixes` skip on
-        # pull_request — push on the head branch already posted the status
-        # on the SHA, and mirroring here would overwrite it.
+        # pull_request — the push run on the head branch reports the status
+        # on the SHA. See the `name:` above for why the skipped job is renamed.
         if: |
           always() && (
             github.event_name != 'pull_request' ||