diff --git a/changelog.d/fixed-10658.md b/changelog.d/fixed-10658.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..97b1243072
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/fixed-10658.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- dashboard: Overview median-age KPI names its population and basis (#10658)
diff --git a/src/changelog.d/fixed-overview-median-age-label.md b/src/changelog.d/fixed-overview-median-age-label.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..546d208059
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/changelog.d/fixed-overview-median-age-label.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+- Clarify the Overview median-age KPI label and tooltip so it names the actionable open issue/PR population and age basis.
diff --git a/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_sparklines_test.go b/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_sparklines_test.go
index 0e061fc445..2af1edd4d4 100644
--- a/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_sparklines_test.go
+++ b/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_sparklines_test.go
@@ -163,6 +163,8 @@ assert.equal((markup.match(/class="overview-kpi"/g) || []).length, 6);
 assert.equal((markup.match(/<svg/g) || []).length, 6);
 assert.match(markup, />39<\/span><span class="overview-kpi-label">Total open issues<\/span>/);
 assert.match(markup, />31<\/span><span class="overview-kpi-label">Total open PRs<\/span>/);
+assert.match(markup, />—<\/span><span class="overview-kpi-label">Median actionable age \(updated\)<\/span>/);
+assert.match(markup, /Median time since updated for actionable open issues and PRs in the selected repos \(not MTTR, which measures time-to-resolve for closed items\)\./);
 for (const key of ['open-issues','open-prs','actionable-now','held','blocked-needs-human','median-age']) {
   assert.match(markup, new RegExp('overview-kpi:' + key));
 }
diff --git a/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_values_10139_test.go b/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_values_10139_test.go
index 1748c0f454..67478252c4 100644
--- a/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_values_10139_test.go
+++ b/src/pkg/dashboard/overview_kpi_values_10139_test.go
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ assert.deepEqual(Object.fromEntries(values), {
   'Actionable now (issues and PRs)': '103',
   'Held': '1',
   'Blocked / needs-human': '1',
-  'Median age': '7m',
+  'Median actionable age (updated)': '7m',
 });
 
 repos[0].issues = 123;
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ const rawOut = renderOverviewKPIs(repos, issueSlices, prSlices, state);
 const rawValues = Object.fromEntries([...rawOut.matchAll(/<span class="overview-kpi-value"[^>]*>([^<]*)<\/span><span class="overview-kpi-label">([^<]*)<\/span>/g)].map(m => [m[2], m[1]]));
 assert.equal(rawValues['Total open issues'], '123');
 assert.equal(rawValues['Total open PRs'], '45');
+assert.match(out, /title="Median time since updated for actionable open issues and PRs in the selected repos \(not MTTR, which measures time-to-resolve for closed items\)\."/);
+const createdOut = renderOverviewKPIs(repos, issueSlices, prSlices, { showKPIs: true, timeBasis: 'created' });
+assert.match(createdOut, />7m<\/span><span class="overview-kpi-label">Median actionable age \(created\)<\/span>/);
+assert.match(createdOut, /title="Median time since created for actionable open issues and PRs in the selected repos \(not MTTR, which measures time-to-resolve for closed items\)\."/);
 `
 	out, err := exec.Command(node, "-e", script).CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/src/pkg/dashboard/static/index.html b/src/pkg/dashboard/static/index.html
index caacfa4996..715d06a217 100644
--- a/src/pkg/dashboard/static/index.html
+++ b/src/pkg/dashboard/static/index.html
@@ -13348,7 +13348,7 @@ <h4 style="font-size:0.95rem;margin:var(--sp-0) var(--sp-0) var(--sp-3)">What sh
         { key: 'actionable-now', field: 'overviewActionable', label: 'Actionable now (issues and PRs)', value: actionableNow, rawValue: actionableNow, color: 'var(--accent)', tip: 'Items in bands that can move without waiting.' },
         { key: 'held', field: 'overviewHeld', label: 'Held', value: held, rawValue: held, color: 'color-mix(in srgb, var(--orange) 65%, var(--muted))', tip: 'Issues and PRs deliberately paused by a hold.' },
         { key: 'blocked-needs-human', field: 'overviewBlockedHuman', label: 'Blocked / needs-human', value: blockedNeedsHuman, rawValue: blockedNeedsHuman, color: 'var(--red)', tip: 'Waiting, blocked, or escalated work needing a person or dependency.' },
-        { key: 'median-age', field: 'overviewMedianAgeSec', label: 'Median age', value: age, rawValue: ageSec, color: 'var(--purple)', sparkFmt: fmtDurationFromSeconds, tip: 'Median selected actionable item age by the configured time basis.' }
+        { key: 'median-age', field: 'overviewMedianAgeSec', label: `Median actionable age (${state.timeBasis === 'created' ? 'created' : 'updated'})`, value: age, rawValue: ageSec, color: 'var(--purple)', sparkFmt: fmtDurationFromSeconds, tip: `Median time since ${state.timeBasis === 'created' ? 'created' : 'updated'} for actionable open issues and PRs in the selected repos (not MTTR, which measures time-to-resolve for closed items).` }
       ];
       overviewKPIRecordLocal(overviewKPICurrentSample(cards));
       return `<div class="overview-kpis sec-headline" data-collapsed-keep>${overviewKPIWindowControls()}${cards.map(card => {