diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 069553f..08f586c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,17 @@
 
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.6.0 (2026-10-15)
+
+### Added
+
+- `relation_labels` (opt-in, default off): `RelationLabelNormalizer` decorates `api_platform.jsonld.normalizer.item` and embeds `{"@id": <iri>, <label>: <value>}` instead of the plain IRI for to-one relations in JSON-LD collection responses, so lists can show a related record by name. Item responses keep plain IRIs (forms edit relations as `iri-reference` strings, and API Platform rejects nested documents on write). Relations already embedded via serialization groups are left alone; a related row that cannot be loaded (e.g. hidden by row-level security) keeps its IRI.
+- `x-label-property` on the resource's own definition, so clients can title a record the same way a relation to it is labelled. Only set when the label property is a mapped field; an existing hint is kept.
+
+### Changed
+
+- The label property inference moved into `RelationLabelPropertyResolver`, shared by `RelationFieldSchemaDecorator` and `RelationLabelNormalizer`, so schema hint and embedded label always name the same property.
+
 ## 0.5.0 (2026-10-09)
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index dfea9bc..1f405c4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Generic helpers for API Platform projects.
 - DB-JSON CLI tools (`db:export-json`, `db:import-json`)
 - `AbstractJsonSchemaInputCommand` base class for JSON-Schema-validated CLI
 - Generated sort parameters, default sort and a stable-pagination tie-breaker (`auto_order`, `#[AutoOrder]`, `stable_order`)
-- Relation label (`x-label-property`) in input and output schemas
+- Relation label (`x-label-property`) in input and output schemas, and embedded in collection responses (`relation_labels`)
 
 ## Hydra operations (`hydra:operation`)
 
@@ -110,7 +110,23 @@ dmstr_api_platform_utils:
 
 `RelationFieldSchemaDecorator` adds `x-*` extensions to relation properties (`format: iri-reference`) of Doctrine resources:
 
-Input and output schemas get the same five extensions: `x-collection`, `x-label-property`, `x-value-property`, `x-search-property` and `x-resource-class`. Forms built from the read schema (resources with serialization groups have no plain schema) get the autocomplete picker, and lists can show and sort a relation by its label (`order[<relation>.<label>]`, offered by `auto_order` only when the label is one of the candidates). The label is the first candidate the target class declares, else its first string property. Properties inside `allOf` are decorated too, which is where JSON-LD output definitions keep them.
+Input and output schemas get the same five extensions: `x-collection`, `x-label-property`, `x-value-property`, `x-search-property` and `x-resource-class`. Forms built from the read schema (resources with serialization groups have no plain schema) get the autocomplete picker, and lists can show and sort a relation by its label (`order[<relation>.<label>]`, offered by `auto_order` only when the label is one of the candidates). The label is the first candidate the target class declares, else its first string property. Properties inside `allOf` are decorated too, which is where JSON-LD output definitions keep them. The resource's own definition gets `x-label-property` as well, so a client can title a record with the same property a relation to it uses.
+
+### Labels in collection responses (`relation_labels`)
+
+The schema names the label property, but a plain relation value is just the IRI. With `relation_labels` enabled, JSON-LD collection responses embed the label next to it:
+
+```json
+"parent": { "@id": "/api/ort/einheit/0b1…", "bezeichnung": "Erdgeschoss" }
+```
+
+```yaml
+dmstr_api_platform_utils:
+    relation_labels:
+        enabled: true
+```
+
+Only collection operations are affected; item responses keep the plain IRI, because forms edit relations as `iri-reference` strings and API Platform rejects nested documents on write. Each embedded label initialises the related entity, one query per distinct related row and page unless the collection query fetch-joins it.
 
 ## License
 
diff --git a/config/services_relation_labels.yaml b/config/services_relation_labels.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12733a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/services_relation_labels.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# file generated with AI assistance: Claude Code - 2026-10-14 21:30:00 UTC
+
+services:
+    _defaults:
+        autowire: false
+        autoconfigure: false
+        public: false
+
+    Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Service\RelationLabelPropertyResolver:
+        arguments:
+            $labelPropertyCandidates: '%dmstr_api_platform_utils.relation_field_decorator.label_property_candidates%'
+            $logger: '@?logger'
+
+    # Embeds {"@id", <label>} for to-one relations in JSON-LD collection
+    # responses (see RelationLabelNormalizer for the limits).
+    Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Serializer\RelationLabelNormalizer:
+        decorates: 'api_platform.jsonld.normalizer.item'
+        arguments:
+            $decorated: '@.inner'
+            $entityManager: '@doctrine.orm.entity_manager'
+            $labelPropertyResolver: '@Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Service\RelationLabelPropertyResolver'
diff --git a/src/DependencyInjection/ApiPlatformUtilsExtension.php b/src/DependencyInjection/ApiPlatformUtilsExtension.php
index 2ea6441..7f9a8d5 100644
--- a/src/DependencyInjection/ApiPlatformUtilsExtension.php
+++ b/src/DependencyInjection/ApiPlatformUtilsExtension.php
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ public function load(array $configs, ContainerBuilder $container): void
         $container->setParameter('dmstr_api_platform_utils.auto_order.default_order', $config['auto_order']['default_order']);
 
         $container->setParameter('dmstr_api_platform_utils.stable_order.enabled', $config['stable_order']['enabled']);
+        $container->setParameter('dmstr_api_platform_utils.relation_labels.enabled', $config['relation_labels']['enabled']);
 
         // Load service definitions
         $loader = new YamlFileLoader($container, new FileLocator(__DIR__ . '/../../config'));
@@ -75,6 +76,12 @@ public function load(array $configs, ContainerBuilder $container): void
         if ($config['stable_order']['enabled']) {
             $loader->load('services_stable_order.yaml');
         }
+
+        // Conditionally load the relation label normalizer. Off by default:
+        // it changes the shape of relation values in collection responses.
+        if ($config['relation_labels']['enabled']) {
+            $loader->load('services_relation_labels.yaml');
+        }
     }
 
     public function getAlias(): string
diff --git a/src/DependencyInjection/Configuration.php b/src/DependencyInjection/Configuration.php
index 6ba26ae..f15ee2a 100644
--- a/src/DependencyInjection/Configuration.php
+++ b/src/DependencyInjection/Configuration.php
@@ -141,6 +141,17 @@ public function getConfigTreeBuilder(): TreeBuilder
                     ->end()
                 ->end()
 
+                // Labels of to-one relations embedded in collection responses
+                ->arrayNode('relation_labels')
+                    ->addDefaultsIfNotSet()
+                    ->children()
+                        ->booleanNode('enabled')
+                            ->defaultFalse()
+                            ->info('Embed {"@id": <iri>, <label>: <value>} instead of the plain IRI for to-one relations in JSON-LD collection responses, so lists can show the related record by name. The label property is the one announced as x-label-property (relation_field_decorator.label_property_candidates). Item responses keep plain IRIs. Costs one query per distinct related row and page unless fetch-joined.')
+                        ->end()
+                    ->end()
+                ->end()
+
                 // Tie-breaker for stable pagination
                 ->arrayNode('stable_order')
                     ->addDefaultsIfNotSet()
diff --git a/src/OpenApi/RelationFieldSchemaDecorator.php b/src/OpenApi/RelationFieldSchemaDecorator.php
index 0d91952..fb1cc4b 100644
--- a/src/OpenApi/RelationFieldSchemaDecorator.php
+++ b/src/OpenApi/RelationFieldSchemaDecorator.php
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@
 use ApiPlatform\Metadata\Operation;
 use ApiPlatform\Metadata\Resource\Factory\ResourceMetadataCollectionFactoryInterface;
 use ApiPlatform\Metadata\Resource\ResourceMetadataCollection;
+use Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Service\RelationLabelPropertyResolver;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
 use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;
-use ReflectionClass;
 
 /**
  * Decorator that adds OpenAPI x-* extensions to relation properties for autocomplete rendering.
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@
  */
 class RelationFieldSchemaDecorator implements SchemaFactoryInterface
 {
+    private ?RelationLabelPropertyResolver $labelPropertyResolver = null;
+
     public function __construct(
         private readonly SchemaFactoryInterface $decorated,
         private readonly EntityManagerInterface $entityManager,
@@ -129,12 +131,37 @@ public function buildSchema(
 
                 $this->processDefinitionProperties($definitions, $key, $metadata);
             }
+            $this->addOwnLabelProperty($definitions, $schema->getRootDefinitionKey() ?? $schema->getItemsDefinitionKey(), $metadata);
             $schema['definitions'] = $definitions;
         }
 
         return $schema;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Announces the label of the resource itself (`x-label-property` on its
+     * own definition), so clients can title a record the same way a relation
+     * to it is labelled. Only the definition of the built class is touched —
+     * other definitions in the same schema belong to other classes — and an
+     * existing hint is kept.
+     */
+    private function addOwnLabelProperty(\ArrayObject $definitions, ?string $key, ClassMetadata $metadata): void
+    {
+        if ($key === null || !isset($definitions[$key])) {
+            return;
+        }
+        $definition = $definitions[$key];
+        if (isset($definition['x-label-property'])) {
+            return;
+        }
+        $labelProperty = $this->inferLabelProperty($metadata->getName());
+        if (!$metadata->hasField($labelProperty)) {
+            return;
+        }
+        $definition['x-label-property'] = $labelProperty;
+        $definitions[$key] = $definition;
+    }
+
     private function processProperties(Schema $schema, ClassMetadata $metadata, string $propertiesKey): void
     {
         $properties = $schema[$propertiesKey] ?? [];
@@ -368,40 +395,9 @@ private function getCollectionPath(ResourceMetadataCollection $resourceMetadata)
 
     private function inferLabelProperty(string $className): string
     {
-        try {
-            $reflectionClass = new ReflectionClass($className);
-
-            // Priority 1: Check for properties with common label names
-            foreach ($this->labelPropertyCandidates as $candidate) {
-                if ($reflectionClass->hasProperty($candidate)) {
-                    return $candidate;
-                }
-            }
-
-            // Priority 2: Find first non-ID string property
-            foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
-                $propertyName = $property->getName();
-
-                // Skip ID fields
-                if ($propertyName === 'id') {
-                    continue;
-                }
-
-                // Check if it's a string type (via PHP 7.4+ typed property or docblock)
-                $type = $property->getType();
-                if ($type !== null && $type->getName() === 'string') {
-                    return $propertyName;
-                }
-            }
-        } catch (\ReflectionException $e) {
-            $this->logger->warning('Failed to infer label property', [
-                'className' => $className,
-                'error' => $e->getMessage()
-            ]);
-        }
+        $this->labelPropertyResolver ??= new RelationLabelPropertyResolver($this->labelPropertyCandidates, $this->logger);
 
-        // Fallback to first label candidate if nothing found
-        return $this->labelPropertyCandidates[0] ?? 'name';
+        return $this->labelPropertyResolver->resolve($className);
     }
 
     private function getShortName(string $className): string
diff --git a/src/Serializer/RelationLabelNormalizer.php b/src/Serializer/RelationLabelNormalizer.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5bec0c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Serializer/RelationLabelNormalizer.php
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+<?php
+// file generated with AI assistance: Claude Code - 2026-10-14 21:30:00 UTC
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Serializer;
+
+use ApiPlatform\Metadata\CollectionOperationInterface;
+use Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Service\RelationLabelPropertyResolver;
+use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
+use Doctrine\ORM\EntityNotFoundException;
+use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Normalizer\DenormalizerInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Serializer\Normalizer\NormalizerInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Serializer\SerializerAwareInterface;
+use Symfony\Component\Serializer\SerializerInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Embeds the label of to-one relations in JSON-LD collection responses:
+ * `"parent": "/api/einheits/0b1…"` becomes
+ * `"parent": {"@id": "/api/einheits/0b1…", "bezeichnung": "Erdgeschoss"}`.
+ *
+ * The label property is the one the schema announces as `x-label-property`
+ * (shared {@see RelationLabelPropertyResolver}), so a client reads the label
+ * from exactly the property the schema names.
+ *
+ * Deliberately limited:
+ * - collection operations only — item responses keep plain IRIs, because
+ *   forms edit relations as `iri-reference` strings and API Platform rejects
+ *   nested documents on write;
+ * - only values the inner normalizer emitted as IRI strings — relations a
+ *   resource already embeds via serialization groups are left untouched;
+ * - a related row that cannot be loaded (e.g. hidden by row-level security)
+ *   keeps its plain IRI.
+ *
+ * Every embedded label initialises the related entity: one query per distinct
+ * related row and page, unless the collection query fetch-joins it.
+ */
+final class RelationLabelNormalizer implements NormalizerInterface, DenormalizerInterface, SerializerAwareInterface
+{
+    private const FORMAT = 'jsonld';
+
+    public function __construct(
+        private readonly NormalizerInterface $decorated,
+        private readonly EntityManagerInterface $entityManager,
+        private readonly RelationLabelPropertyResolver $labelPropertyResolver,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    public function normalize(mixed $data, ?string $format = null, array $context = []): array|string|int|float|bool|\ArrayObject|null
+    {
+        $normalized = $this->decorated->normalize($data, $format, $context);
+
+        if (self::FORMAT !== $format
+            || !\is_array($normalized)
+            || !\is_object($data)
+            || !(($context['root_operation'] ?? $context['operation'] ?? null) instanceof CollectionOperationInterface)
+        ) {
+            return $normalized;
+        }
+
+        return $this->embedLabels($data, $normalized);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param array<string, mixed> $normalized
+     *
+     * @return array<string, mixed>
+     */
+    private function embedLabels(object $entity, array $normalized): array
+    {
+        if ($this->entityManager->getMetadataFactory()->isTransient($entity::class)) {
+            return $normalized; // not a Doctrine entity (DTO, output class)
+        }
+        $metadata = $this->entityManager->getClassMetadata($entity::class);
+
+        foreach ($metadata->getAssociationNames() as $field) {
+            if (!$metadata->isSingleValuedAssociation($field) || !\is_string($normalized[$field] ?? null)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $related = $metadata->getFieldValue($entity, $field);
+            if (!\is_object($related)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $targetMetadata = $this->entityManager->getClassMetadata($metadata->getAssociationTargetClass($field));
+            $labelProperty = $this->labelPropertyResolver->resolve($targetMetadata->getName());
+            if (!$targetMetadata->hasField($labelProperty)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            try {
+                $this->entityManager->getUnitOfWork()->initializeObject($related);
+            } catch (EntityNotFoundException) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $label = $targetMetadata->getFieldValue($related, $labelProperty);
+            if (!\is_scalar($label) || '' === (string) $label) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $normalized[$field] = ['@id' => $normalized[$field], $labelProperty => (string) $label];
+        }
+
+        return $normalized;
+    }
+
+    public function supportsNormalization(mixed $data, ?string $format = null, array $context = []): bool
+    {
+        return $this->decorated->supportsNormalization($data, $format, $context);
+    }
+
+    public function denormalize(mixed $data, string $type, ?string $format = null, array $context = []): mixed
+    {
+        if (!$this->decorated instanceof DenormalizerInterface) {
+            throw new \LogicException(\sprintf('The decorated normalizer must implement "%s".', DenormalizerInterface::class));
+        }
+
+        return $this->decorated->denormalize($data, $type, $format, $context);
+    }
+
+    public function supportsDenormalization(mixed $data, string $type, ?string $format = null, array $context = []): bool
+    {
+        return $this->decorated instanceof DenormalizerInterface
+            && $this->decorated->supportsDenormalization($data, $type, $format, $context);
+    }
+
+    public function getSupportedTypes(?string $format): array
+    {
+        return $this->decorated->getSupportedTypes($format);
+    }
+
+    public function setSerializer(SerializerInterface $serializer): void
+    {
+        if ($this->decorated instanceof SerializerAwareInterface) {
+            $this->decorated->setSerializer($serializer);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Service/RelationLabelPropertyResolver.php b/src/Service/RelationLabelPropertyResolver.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27a399c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Service/RelationLabelPropertyResolver.php
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+<?php
+// file generated with AI assistance: Claude Code - 2026-10-14 21:30:00 UTC
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace Dmstr\ApiPlatformUtils\Service;
+
+use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface;
+use ReflectionClass;
+
+/**
+ * Picks the property that labels an entity when it is the target of a
+ * relation. Shared by the schema hint (`x-label-property`) and the embedded
+ * relation labels, so both always name the same property.
+ *
+ * Order: the first configured candidate the class declares, else its first
+ * non-ID string property, else the first candidate.
+ */
+final class RelationLabelPropertyResolver
+{
+    /** @var array<class-string, string> */
+    private array $cache = [];
+
+    /**
+     * @param list<string> $labelPropertyCandidates
+     */
+    public function __construct(
+        private readonly array $labelPropertyCandidates = ['name', 'title', 'label', 'displayName', 'email'],
+        private readonly ?LoggerInterface $logger = null,
+    ) {
+    }
+
+    public function resolve(string $className): string
+    {
+        return $this->cache[$className] ??= $this->infer($className);
+    }
+
+    private function infer(string $className): string
+    {
+        try {
+            $reflectionClass = new ReflectionClass($className);
+
+            foreach ($this->labelPropertyCandidates as $candidate) {
+                if ($reflectionClass->hasProperty($candidate)) {
+                    return $candidate;
+                }
+            }
+
+            foreach ($reflectionClass->getProperties() as $property) {
+                if ($property->getName() === 'id') {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                $type = $property->getType();
+                if ($type instanceof \ReflectionNamedType && $type->getName() === 'string') {
+                    return $property->getName();
+                }
+            }
+        } catch (\ReflectionException $e) {
+            $this->logger?->warning('Failed to infer label property', [
+                'className' => $className,
+                'error' => $e->getMessage(),
+            ]);
+        }
+
+        return $this->labelPropertyCandidates[0] ?? 'name';
+    }
+}