diff --git a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
index c0189da..a29eb49 100644
--- a/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/Ui/Components/MessageList.cs
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
     // config field that had stopped bounding anything.
     private float[] _heightScratch = [];
 
+    // Measured once per Draw rather than per row: it only moves when the clock
+    // format or the font does, and both of those are in the layout fingerprint.
+    private float _stampColumnWidth;
+    private bool _stampVisible;
+    private float _metaDrop;
+
     // §6.2: setter-injection breaks the PayloadHandler → MainWindow → MessageList → PayloadHandler 3-cycle.
     // Wired by PayloadHandlerInitHostedService.StartAsync after both singletons exist.
     internal void AttachPayloadHandler(PayloadHandler handler)
@@ -157,6 +163,8 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         // and a runaway content-height computation.
         var compact = Plugin.Config.UseCompactDensity;
 
+        MeasureTimestampColumn(tab);
+
         // B2: drop stale cached heights before the snapshot draw. Both densities
         // need this now -- compact rows are not constant height either, they wrap.
         // Width read here while it is valid.
@@ -193,6 +201,72 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         _handler?.Draw();
     }
 
+    // The stamp column is fixed width so sender names line up under each other.
+    // It stays reserved even when the stamp is hidden -- otherwise a per-tab
+    // switch would change every row height in the tab, and the height cache would
+    // need to carry the wrap position rather than just the format.
+    private void MeasureTimestampColumn(Tab tab)
+    {
+        _stampVisible = tab.DisplayTimestamp;
+
+        var meta = MetaFace();
+        float sample;
+        using (meta.Push())
+            sample = ImGui.CalcTextSize(TimestampColumn.SampleFor(Plugin.Config.Use24HourClock)).X;
+
+        _stampColumnWidth = sample + ImGui.CalcTextSize(" ").X * 2f;
+
+        // ImGui aligns a row by its top edge, so the smaller meta face would hang
+        // above the baseline of the body text beside it.
+        float bodyAscent;
+        using (BodyFace().Push())
+            bodyAscent = ImGui.GetFont().Ascent;
+
+        float metaAscent;
+        using (meta.Push())
+            metaAscent = ImGui.GetFont().Ascent;
+
+        _metaDrop = StyleEngine.BaselineMath.OffsetFor(
+            bodyAscent,
+            metaAscent,
+            StyleEngine.Metrics.Scale
+        );
+    }
+
+    // Both follow the same pair of settings every other push site follows.
+    private Dalamud.Interface.ManagedFontAtlas.IFontHandle BodyFace() =>
+        Plugin.Config.FontsEnabled || Plugin.Config.UseHellionFont
+            ? _fonts.RegularFont!
+            : _fonts.Axis;
+
+    private Dalamud.Interface.ManagedFontAtlas.IFontHandle MetaFace() =>
+        Plugin.Config.FontsEnabled || Plugin.Config.UseHellionFont ? _fonts.MetaFont! : _fonts.Axis;
+
+    // Same size as the body face, drawn heavier. With the game font selected
+    // there is no heavier variant, so the sender leans on channel colour alone.
+    private Dalamud.Interface.ManagedFontAtlas.IFontHandle SenderFace() =>
+        Plugin.Config.FontsEnabled || Plugin.Config.UseHellionFont
+            ? _fonts.SenderFont!
+            : _fonts.Axis;
+
+    // Draws the stamp into its column and leaves the cursor at the text column,
+    // whether or not anything was drawn.
+    private void DrawTimestampCell(Message message)
+    {
+        var origin = ImGui.GetCursorPos();
+
+        if (_stampVisible)
+        {
+            ImGui.SetCursorPosY(origin.Y + _metaDrop);
+            using (MetaFace().Push())
+                ImGui.TextUnformatted(FormatTimestamp(message.Date));
+
+            ImGui.SameLine(0f, 0f);
+        }
+
+        ImGui.SetCursorPos(origin with { X = origin.X + _stampColumnWidth });
+    }
+
     // B3-5: Discord-style full-width bar pinned to the bottom edge of the
     // visible region while the user is scrolled up. Geometry comes from window
     // pos + size (visible region), never from the content flow: when scrolled
@@ -252,19 +326,20 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         // channel brackets/colon as ChunkSource.None wrappers (MessageManager
         // .cs:300-314), so the separator is rendered by the chunks. 1.5.6 parity
         // (ChatLogWindow.cs:1965: DrawChunks(message.Sender) + SameLine).
-        var timestamp = FormatTimestamp(message.Date);
+        DrawTimestampCell(message);
+
         if (message.Sender.Count > 0)
         {
-            ImGui.TextUnformatted($"{timestamp}  ");
-            ImGui.SameLine(0f, 0f);
-            _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(message.Sender, wrap: true, handler: _handler, lineWidth: 0f);
-            ImGui.SameLine(0f, 0f);
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            ImGui.TextUnformatted(timestamp);
+            using (SenderFace().Push())
+                _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(
+                    message.Sender,
+                    wrap: true,
+                    handler: _handler,
+                    lineWidth: 0f
+                );
             ImGui.SameLine(0f, 0f);
         }
+
         _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(message.Content, wrap: true, handler: _handler, lineWidth: 0f);
     }
 
@@ -383,18 +458,29 @@ internal sealed class MessageList
         // SameLine after the sender). The 1.5.6 channel-colour push on the
         // sender is deferred styling polish (masterplan §6 -> v1.9.0); plain
         // text here.
-        var timestamp = FormatTimestamp(message.Date);
-        if (message.Sender.Count > 0)
+        // A system message has no sender, so a header row would be a stamp on a
+        // line of its own -- an empty gesture. Those stay single-line in both
+        // densities; only a message with a sender gets the two-line treatment.
+        if (message.Sender.Count == 0)
         {
-            ImGui.TextUnformatted($"{timestamp}  ");
-            ImGui.SameLine(0f, 0f);
+            DrawTimestampCell(message);
+            _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(
+                message.Content,
+                wrap: true,
+                handler: _handler,
+                lineWidth: 0f
+            );
+            return;
+        }
+
+        DrawTimestampCell(message);
+        using (SenderFace().Push())
             _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(message.Sender, wrap: true, handler: _handler, lineWidth: 0f);
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            ImGui.TextUnformatted(timestamp);
-        }
+
+        // Indented onto the text column so the body lines up under the name.
+        ImGui.Indent(_stampColumnWidth);
         _chunkRenderer.DrawChunks(message.Content, wrap: true, handler: _handler, lineWidth: 0f);
+        ImGui.Unindent(_stampColumnWidth);
     }
 
     private static string FormatTimestamp(DateTimeOffset date)