diff --git a/server/db/migrations-pg.ts b/server/db/migrations-pg.ts
index e6ca8ee65..d129ffaa2 100644
--- a/server/db/migrations-pg.ts
+++ b/server/db/migrations-pg.ts
@@ -1147,4 +1147,13 @@ export const pgMigrations: Migration[] = [
       alter table collab_documents add column generation text not null default '';
     `,
   },
+  {
+    // See migrations-sqlite.ts:024 — clears display names that are just the
+    // account's email address, because author bindings render them publicly.
+    id: '024_clear_email_display_names',
+    sql: `
+      update users set display_name = ''
+       where trim(lower(display_name)) = trim(lower(email));
+    `,
+  },
 ]
diff --git a/server/db/migrations-sqlite.ts b/server/db/migrations-sqlite.ts
index 734a53fb3..a4c5cdd74 100644
--- a/server/db/migrations-sqlite.ts
+++ b/server/db/migrations-sqlite.ts
@@ -1211,4 +1211,17 @@ export const sqliteMigrations: Migration[] = [
       alter table collab_documents add column generation text not null default '';
     `,
   },
+  {
+    // `display_name` is rendered on PUBLIC pages through author bindings, and
+    // setup used to default it to the account's email address — so every
+    // install created before this has an address sitting in a public field.
+    // Clear it only where it is exactly the address; a name somebody actually
+    // chose is left alone. Admin surfaces already fall back to the email for
+    // their own display, so an empty value costs nothing there.
+    id: '024_clear_email_display_names',
+    sql: `
+      update users set display_name = ''
+       where trim(lower(display_name)) = trim(lower(email));
+    `,
+  },
 ]
diff --git a/server/handlers/cms/setup.ts b/server/handlers/cms/setup.ts
index c9cea4613..9581fe11d 100644
--- a/server/handlers/cms/setup.ts
+++ b/server/handlers/cms/setup.ts
@@ -54,12 +54,16 @@ export async function handleSetupRoutes(req: Request, db: DbClient): Promise<Res
       siteName: Type.String(),
       email: Type.String(),
       password: Type.String(),
+      // Optional: the owner's public name. Left empty, author bindings render
+      // nothing rather than the email address.
+      displayName: Type.Optional(Type.String()),
     })
     const body = await readValidatedBody(req, SetupBodySchema)
     if (!body) return badRequest('Invalid request body')
     const siteName = body.siteName.trim()
     const email = body.email.trim().toLowerCase()
     const password = body.password.trim()
+    const displayName = body.displayName?.trim() ?? ''
 
     if (!siteName) return badRequest('Missing siteName')
     if (!email.includes('@')) return badRequest('Invalid email')
@@ -70,7 +74,7 @@ export async function handleSetupRoutes(req: Request, db: DbClient): Promise<Res
       const owner = await createUser(tx, {
         id: nanoid(),
         email,
-        displayName: email,
+        displayName,
         passwordHash: await hashPassword(password),
         roleId: 'owner',
         allowOwnerRole: true,
diff --git a/server/publish/loopPrefetch.ts b/server/publish/loopPrefetch.ts
index bd1a365af..f40a66039 100644
--- a/server/publish/loopPrefetch.ts
+++ b/server/publish/loopPrefetch.ts
@@ -79,12 +79,15 @@ export function publishedDataRowToLoopItem(row: PublishedDataRow): LoopItem {
       versionNumber: row.versionNumber,
       tableId: row.tableId,
       tableSlug: row.tableSlug,
-      // People
-      author,
+      // People. `author` and `publishedBy` are the DISPLAY NAME, not the
+      // reference object — a binding lands in public HTML, and a non-scalar
+      // there used to be JSON-stringified, publishing display name, role slug
+      // and role name together. Every people key here is now a leaf.
+      author: author?.displayName ?? null,
       authorName: author?.displayName ?? null,
       authorRoleSlug: author?.roleSlug ?? null,
       authorRoleName: author?.roleName ?? null,
-      publishedBy,
+      publishedBy: publishedBy?.displayName ?? null,
       publishedByName: publishedBy?.displayName ?? null,
       publishedByRoleSlug: publishedBy?.roleSlug ?? null,
       publishedByRoleName: publishedBy?.roleName ?? null,
diff --git a/server/repositories/users.ts b/server/repositories/users.ts
index b24f05bf0..dc6af42cc 100644
--- a/server/repositories/users.ts
+++ b/server/repositories/users.ts
@@ -285,7 +285,13 @@ export async function createUser(
   const email = input.email.trim()
   const emailNormalized = normalizeEmail(email)
   if (!emailNormalized.includes('@')) throw new UserMutationError('Invalid email')
-  const displayName = input.displayName.trim() || email
+  // Empty means empty. `display_name` is rendered on PUBLIC pages through
+  // author bindings, so defaulting it to the email address publishes the
+  // address the moment anyone binds an author field. Admin surfaces already
+  // fall back to the email for their own display (UserAvatar,
+  // AccountMenuButton, ContentSettingsPanel, ActivityWidget) — that fallback
+  // is authenticated-only and stays.
+  const displayName = input.displayName.trim()
   const id = input.id ?? nanoid()
   const status = input.status ?? 'active'
   if (input.roleId === 'owner' && input.allowOwnerRole !== true) {
@@ -318,9 +324,10 @@ export async function updateUser(
   const email = input.email === undefined ? current.email : input.email.trim()
   const emailNormalized = normalizeEmail(email)
   if (!emailNormalized.includes('@')) throw new UserMutationError('Invalid email')
+  // Clearing the field is allowed and means "no public name" — see createUser.
   const displayName = input.displayName === undefined
     ? current.displayName
-    : input.displayName.trim() || email
+    : input.displayName.trim()
   const status = input.status ?? current.status
   const roleId = input.roleId ?? current.role.id
   const passwordHash = input.passwordHash ?? current.passwordHash
diff --git a/src/__tests__/loops/dataRowsSource.test.ts b/src/__tests__/loops/dataRowsSource.test.ts
index 6f83aacf6..64eb18919 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/loops/dataRowsSource.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/loops/dataRowsSource.test.ts
@@ -3,10 +3,16 @@ import { DataRowsSource } from '@core/loops/sources/dataRows'
 
 describe('data.rows loop source', () => {
   it('offers author display fields without exposing user ids as binding fields', () => {
+    // `author` is declared, because it is the name an author reaches for and
+    // an undeclared key is exactly how a binding to a non-field goes unnoticed.
     expect(DataRowsSource.fields).toContainEqual({
-      id: 'authorName',
+      id: 'author',
       label: 'Author name',
     })
+    expect(DataRowsSource.fields).toContainEqual({
+      id: 'authorName',
+      label: 'Author name (alias)',
+    })
     expect(DataRowsSource.fields).toContainEqual({
       id: 'authorRoleName',
       label: 'Author role',
diff --git a/src/__tests__/publisher/authorBindingLeak.test.ts b/src/__tests__/publisher/authorBindingLeak.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bb27b8bbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/publisher/authorBindingLeak.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/**
+ * A binding must never publish internal shape.
+ *
+ * `{currentEntry.author}` used to resolve to the `PublicDataUserReference`
+ * object, and the token interpolator JSON-stringified any non-scalar "so
+ * mistakes stay visible" — an author-facing debug affordance running in the
+ * public publish path. A single template binding therefore published
+ * `{"displayName":"owner@example.com","roleSlug":"owner","roleName":"Owner"}`
+ * into live HTML, and into every screenshot taken of it.
+ *
+ * Two independent guards keep that shut, and both are asserted here: the
+ * people keys are leaf strings, and a non-scalar value renders as nothing
+ * rather than as JSON.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test'
+import { interpolateTokens } from '@core/templates/tokenInterpolation'
+import type { TemplateContext } from '@core/templates/contextFrames'
+
+function contextWithEntry(fields: Record<string, unknown>): TemplateContext {
+  return { entryStack: [{ id: 'row_1', fields }] } as unknown as TemplateContext
+}
+
+describe('author bindings never publish internal shape', () => {
+  it('renders the display name for {currentEntry.author}', () => {
+    const ctx = contextWithEntry({ author: 'Rosa Ferrandis' })
+    expect(interpolateTokens('By {currentEntry.author}', ctx)).toBe('By Rosa Ferrandis')
+  })
+
+  it('renders nothing for a binding that resolves to an object', () => {
+    const ctx = contextWithEntry({
+      author: { displayName: 'owner@example.com', roleSlug: 'owner', roleName: 'Owner' },
+    })
+    const out = interpolateTokens('By {currentEntry.author}', ctx)
+
+    expect(out).toBe('By ')
+    expect(out).not.toContain('@')
+    expect(out).not.toContain('roleSlug')
+    expect(out).not.toContain('displayName')
+  })
+
+  it('renders nothing for a binding that resolves to an array', () => {
+    const ctx = contextWithEntry({ tags: ['a', 'b'] })
+    expect(interpolateTokens('{currentEntry.tags}', ctx)).toBe('')
+  })
+
+  it('still honours an author-supplied fallback when the value is non-scalar', () => {
+    const ctx = contextWithEntry({ author: { displayName: 'owner@example.com' } })
+    expect(interpolateTokens('{currentEntry.author|Anonymous}', ctx)).toBe('Anonymous')
+  })
+
+  it('leaves scalar bindings untouched', () => {
+    const ctx = contextWithEntry({ title: 'El inventario', year: 2025, pardoned: false })
+    expect(interpolateTokens('{currentEntry.title} ({currentEntry.year})', ctx))
+      .toBe('El inventario (2025)')
+    expect(interpolateTokens('{currentEntry.pardoned}', ctx)).toBe('false')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/__tests__/server/loopPrefetch.test.ts b/src/__tests__/server/loopPrefetch.test.ts
index 4d315cc2b..32842b94a 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/server/loopPrefetch.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/server/loopPrefetch.test.ts
@@ -49,24 +49,22 @@ describe('loopPrefetch', () => {
       createdAt: '2026-05-01T10:02:00.000Z',
     })
 
+    // Every people key is a LEAF. `author` used to be the reference object,
+    // so a template binding it published `{"displayName":…,"roleSlug":…}`
+    // straight into the page.
     expect(item.fields).toMatchObject({
-      author: {
-        displayName: 'Author Name',
-        roleSlug: 'editor',
-        roleName: 'Editor',
-      },
+      author: 'Author Name',
       authorName: 'Author Name',
       authorRoleName: 'Editor',
       authorRoleSlug: 'editor',
-      publishedBy: {
-        displayName: 'Publisher Name',
-        roleSlug: 'admin',
-        roleName: 'Admin',
-      },
+      publishedBy: 'Publisher Name',
       publishedByName: 'Publisher Name',
       publishedByRoleName: 'Admin',
       publishedByRoleSlug: 'admin',
     })
+    for (const key of ['author', 'publishedBy']) {
+      expect(typeof item.fields[key]).not.toBe('object')
+    }
     expect('authorUserId' in item.fields).toBe(false)
     expect('authorId' in item.fields).toBe(false)
     expect('publishedByUserId' in item.fields).toBe(false)
diff --git a/src/__tests__/server/setupDisplayName.test.ts b/src/__tests__/server/setupDisplayName.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aee62024e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/server/setupDisplayName.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/**
+ * A display name is never silently the account's email address.
+ *
+ * `display_name` is rendered on PUBLIC pages through author bindings, and both
+ * setup and `createUser` used to default it to the email. So a fresh install
+ * had the owner's address sitting in a publicly-bindable field before anyone
+ * had written a line of content, and the only way to change it was the account
+ * page after the fact.
+ *
+ * Setup now takes an optional `displayName`, and an unset name stays empty.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test'
+import type { DbClient } from '../../../server/db'
+import { handleCmsRequest } from '../../../server/handlers/cms'
+import { createUser, findUserByEmail } from '../../../server/repositories/users'
+import { createTestDb } from '../helpers/createTestDb'
+
+const EMAIL = 'owner@example.com'
+const PASSWORD = 'long-enough-password'
+
+async function runSetup(db: DbClient, body: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<Response> {
+  return await handleCmsRequest(
+    new Request('http://localhost/admin/api/cms/setup', {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ siteName: 'Test', email: EMAIL, password: PASSWORD, ...body }),
+    }),
+    db,
+  )
+}
+
+describe('setup display name', () => {
+  it('leaves the display name empty when none is given', async () => {
+    const { db } = await createTestDb()
+    expect((await runSetup(db, {})).status).toBe(201)
+
+    const owner = await findUserByEmail(db, EMAIL)
+    expect(owner?.displayName).toBe('')
+    expect(owner?.displayName).not.toContain('@')
+  })
+
+  it('stores the display name given at setup', async () => {
+    const { db } = await createTestDb()
+    expect((await runSetup(db, { displayName: 'Rosa Ferrandis' })).status).toBe(201)
+
+    expect((await findUserByEmail(db, EMAIL))?.displayName).toBe('Rosa Ferrandis')
+  })
+
+  it('trims a whitespace-only display name to empty rather than the email', async () => {
+    const { db } = await createTestDb()
+    expect((await runSetup(db, { displayName: '   ' })).status).toBe(201)
+
+    expect((await findUserByEmail(db, EMAIL))?.displayName).toBe('')
+  })
+})
+
+describe('createUser display name', () => {
+  it('does not fall back to the email address', async () => {
+    const { db } = await createTestDb()
+    await runSetup(db, {})
+
+    const created = await createUser(db, {
+      email: 'editor@example.com',
+      displayName: '',
+      passwordHash: 'x',
+      roleId: 'admin',
+    })
+
+    expect(created.displayName).toBe('')
+    expect(created.displayName).not.toContain('@')
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.module.css b/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.module.css
index 9d15f0728..37699825d 100644
--- a/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.module.css
+++ b/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.module.css
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@
   font-weight: 600;
 }
 
+/* Secondary note inside a field label — lighter than the label it follows. */
+.hint {
+  color: var(--text-subtle);
+  font-weight: 400;
+}
+
 @keyframes instaticAdminSpin {
   to {
     transform: rotate(360deg);
diff --git a/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.tsx b/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.tsx
index c0b4377aa..12950bd28 100644
--- a/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.tsx
+++ b/src/admin/preauth/AdminPreAuthForm.tsx
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ export function AdminPreAuthForm({
   onAuthenticated,
 }: AdminPreAuthFormProps) {
   const [siteName, setSiteName] = useState('My Site')
+  const [displayName, setDisplayName] = useState('')
   const [email, setEmail] = useState('')
   const [password, setPassword] = useState('')
   const [mfaCode, setMfaCode] = useState('')
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ export function AdminPreAuthForm({
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(initialError)
 
   const siteNameId = useId()
+  const displayNameId = useId()
   const emailId = useId()
   const passwordId = useId()
   const mfaCodeId = useId()
@@ -86,7 +88,7 @@ export function AdminPreAuthForm({
       return
     }
     await runAuthAction(async () => {
-      await setupCms({ siteName, email, password })
+      await setupCms({ siteName, email, password, displayName })
       await loginCms({ email, password })
       onAuthenticated(await getCurrentCmsUser())
     }, 'Setup failed', setSubmitting, setError)
@@ -167,16 +169,32 @@ export function AdminPreAuthForm({
               />
             </label>
           ) : phase === 'setup' && (
-            <label className={styles.field} htmlFor={siteNameId}>
-              <span>Site name</span>
-              <Input
-                id={siteNameId}
-                value={siteName}
-                onChange={(event) => setSiteName(event.target.value)}
-                required
-                autoComplete="organization"
-              />
-            </label>
+            <>
+              <label className={styles.field} htmlFor={siteNameId}>
+                <span>Site name</span>
+                <Input
+                  id={siteNameId}
+                  value={siteName}
+                  onChange={(event) => setSiteName(event.target.value)}
+                  required
+                  autoComplete="organization"
+                />
+              </label>
+
+              {/* Optional, and public: this is what author bindings render on
+                  published pages. Left blank they render nothing — which is
+                  why it is offered here rather than only on the account page. */}
+              <label className={styles.field} htmlFor={displayNameId}>
+                <span>Your name <span className={styles.hint}>optional, shown on published pages</span></span>
+                <Input
+                  id={displayNameId}
+                  value={displayName}
+                  onChange={(event) => setDisplayName(event.target.value)}
+                  autoComplete="name"
+                  data-testid="admin-setup-display-name"
+                />
+              </label>
+            </>
           )}
 
           {phase !== 'mfa' && (
diff --git a/src/core/data/publicDataUser.ts b/src/core/data/publicDataUser.ts
index ba852c423..24ea45126 100644
--- a/src/core/data/publicDataUser.ts
+++ b/src/core/data/publicDataUser.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 /**
  * Public-facing user reference attached to published data rows.
  *
- * Strips internal-only ids and email addresses, retaining only the bits the
- * publisher and frontend templates need to render bylines safely.
+ * Drops internal-only ids and the `email` field, retaining only the bits the
+ * publisher and frontend templates need to render bylines.
+ *
+ * It does NOT guarantee the result is free of email addresses: `displayName`
+ * carries whatever the account has set, and setup used to default that to the
+ * address. Two things keep it out of public HTML now — a display name is empty
+ * until someone sets one (`createUser`), and the binding frames expose the
+ * display name as a leaf string rather than this object, because a non-scalar
+ * binding used to be serialised wholesale into the page.
  */
 
 interface PublicDataUserReference {
diff --git a/src/core/loops/sources/dataRows.ts b/src/core/loops/sources/dataRows.ts
index edef240c3..ab96d8151 100644
--- a/src/core/loops/sources/dataRows.ts
+++ b/src/core/loops/sources/dataRows.ts
@@ -164,12 +164,12 @@ function rowToLoopItem(
       versionNumber: Number(row.version_number),
       tableId: row.table_id,
       tableSlug: row.table_slug,
-      // People
-      author,
+      // People — display names, never the reference object. See loopPrefetch.
+      author: author?.displayName ?? null,
       authorName: author?.displayName ?? null,
       authorRoleSlug: author?.roleSlug ?? null,
       authorRoleName: author?.roleName ?? null,
-      publishedBy,
+      publishedBy: publishedBy?.displayName ?? null,
       publishedByName: publishedBy?.displayName ?? null,
       publishedByRoleSlug: publishedBy?.roleSlug ?? null,
       publishedByRoleName: publishedBy?.roleName ?? null,
@@ -503,7 +503,8 @@ export const DataRowsSource: LoopEntitySource = {
   fields: [
     { id: 'slug', label: 'Slug' },
     { id: 'title', label: 'Title (post-type)' },
-    { id: 'authorName', label: 'Author name' },
+    { id: 'author', label: 'Author name' },
+    { id: 'authorName', label: 'Author name (alias)' },
     { id: 'authorRoleName', label: 'Author role' },
     { id: 'body', label: 'Body (post-type, markdown)', format: 'html' },
     { id: 'featuredMedia', label: 'Featured media (post-type)', format: 'media' },
diff --git a/src/core/persistence/cmsAuth.ts b/src/core/persistence/cmsAuth.ts
index 6f8a3d681..f655820db 100644
--- a/src/core/persistence/cmsAuth.ts
+++ b/src/core/persistence/cmsAuth.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ interface CmsSetupInput {
   siteName: string
   email: string
   password: string
+  /** The owner's public name. Omitted or empty means author bindings render nothing. */
+  displayName?: string
 }
 
 interface CmsLoginInput {
diff --git a/src/core/templates/tokenInterpolation.ts b/src/core/templates/tokenInterpolation.ts
index 6946abc99..7314c14c2 100644
--- a/src/core/templates/tokenInterpolation.ts
+++ b/src/core/templates/tokenInterpolation.ts
@@ -276,14 +276,18 @@ export function interpolateTokens(input: string, context: TemplateRenderDataCont
     } else if (typeof rawValue === 'number' || typeof rawValue === 'boolean') {
       out += String(rawValue)
     } else {
-      // Objects / arrays — fall back to JSON for visibility. Real-world
-      // bindings should target leaf fields; surfacing the JSON keeps
-      // mistakes visible instead of silent.
-      try {
-        out += JSON.stringify(rawValue)
-      } catch {
-        // ignore
-      }
+      // Objects / arrays resolve to NOTHING, deliberately.
+      //
+      // This branch used to JSON.stringify the value "so mistakes stay
+      // visible". That is an author-facing debug affordance running in the
+      // public publish path: `{currentEntry.author}` against a reference
+      // object published the account's display name, role slug and role name
+      // into live HTML. A binding that misses is a blank, never a dump of
+      // whatever internal shape happened to sit behind the key — the frame
+      // cannot know which of its values are safe to print.
+      //
+      // Treated as missing, so an author-supplied fallback still applies.
+      if (seg.fallback !== undefined) out += seg.fallback
     }
   }
   return out