diff --git a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
index b0aeb0ca6..e81afceec 100644
--- a/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
+++ b/gitnexus/src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.ts
@@ -165,6 +165,31 @@ const stripBackticks = (s: string): string => {
   return s.slice(start, end);
 };
 
+/** The backticked entries of one export set, stripped, and the set size they were read at. */
+const backtickedExportSymbols = new WeakMap<
+  ReadonlySet<string>,
+  { readonly size: number; readonly symbols: ReadonlySet<string> }
+>();
+
+/**
+ * The symbols of the entries of `exports` that start or end with a backtick (a quoted
+ * `` "`%+%`" `` entry keeps its backticks), stripped. Built in one pass per export set, so a
+ * lookup is a set membership test instead of a walk over every export; a set that has grown or
+ * shrunk since is read again.
+ */
+function backtickedExports(exports: ReadonlySet<string>): ReadonlySet<string> {
+  const cached = backtickedExportSymbols.get(exports);
+  if (cached !== undefined && cached.size === exports.size) return cached.symbols;
+  const symbols = new Set<string>();
+  for (const entry of exports) {
+    if (entry.charCodeAt(0) === 96 || entry.charCodeAt(entry.length - 1) === 96) {
+      symbols.add(stripBackticks(entry));
+    }
+  }
+  backtickedExportSymbols.set(exports, { size: exports.size, symbols });
+  return symbols;
+}
+
 /**
  * Resolve a NAMESPACE `importFrom(pkg, importedName)` to the `R/` file(s) of the
  * local package `pkg` that define `importedName` at top level, or `null`.
@@ -199,7 +224,7 @@ export function resolveRNamedImport(
   if (info !== undefined && info.hasNamespaceFile) {
     const exported =
       info.namedExports.has(symbol) ||
-      [...info.namedExports].some((entry) => stripBackticks(entry) === symbol) ||
+      backtickedExports(info.namedExports).has(symbol) ||
       rExportPatternMatches(info, symbol);
     if (!exported) return null;
   }
diff --git a/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-named-import-lookup.test.ts b/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-named-import-lookup.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c440d5c28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gitnexus/test/unit/scope-resolution/r/r-named-import-lookup.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+/**
+ * Looking up an `importFrom()` name that a provider's NAMESPACE does not export must cost one set
+ * lookup, not a pass over every export: a NAMESPACE can carry any number of `export()` entries and
+ * a caller any number of `importFrom()` names, so a scan per lookup is quadratic in repository text.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import type { ParsedFile } from 'gitnexus-shared';
+import { extractParsedFile } from '../../../../src/core/ingestion/scope-extractor-bridge.js';
+import { rProvider } from '../../../../src/core/ingestion/languages/r.js';
+import type {
+  RNamespaceInfo,
+  RPackageConfig,
+} from '../../../../src/core/ingestion/languages/r/package-config.js';
+import { resolveRNamedImport } from '../../../../src/core/ingestion/import-resolvers/r.js';
+
+/** A set that counts every way of walking all of its entries. */
+class CountingSet extends Set<string> {
+  walks = 0;
+  override [Symbol.iterator](): SetIterator<string> {
+    this.walks++;
+    return super[Symbol.iterator]();
+  }
+  override values(): SetIterator<string> {
+    this.walks++;
+    return super.values();
+  }
+  override entries(): SetIterator<[string, string]> {
+    this.walks++;
+    return super.entries();
+  }
+  override forEach(...args: Parameters<Set<string>['forEach']>): void {
+    this.walks++;
+    super.forEach(...args);
+  }
+}
+
+function setup(exportCount: number): {
+  cfg: RPackageConfig;
+  exports: CountingSet;
+  file: ParsedFile;
+} {
+  const exports = new CountingSet();
+  for (let i = 0; i < exportCount; i++) exports.add(`exported_${String(i)}`);
+  const info: RNamespaceInfo = {
+    hasNamespaceFile: true,
+    namedExports: exports,
+    exportPatterns: [],
+    importFrom: [],
+  };
+  const cfg: RPackageConfig = {
+    packages: new Map([['prov', 'prov']]),
+    namespaceInfoByPackageDir: new Map([['prov', info]]),
+  };
+  const file = extractParsedFile(
+    rProvider,
+    'exported_5 <- function() 1\nprivate_fn <- function() 2',
+    'prov/R/a.R',
+  );
+  if (file === undefined) throw new Error('no ParsedFile');
+  return { cfg, exports, file };
+}
+
+describe('resolveRNamedImport: the cost of a name the NAMESPACE does not export', () => {
+  it('walks the export set once for any number of lookups of names that are not exported', () => {
+    const { cfg, exports, file } = setup(1_000);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
+      expect(resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', `private_fn_${String(i)}`, [file])).toBeNull();
+    }
+    expect(resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', 'private_fn', [file])).toBeNull();
+    // One pass builds the index of backticked entries; a scan per lookup would be 101 walks.
+    expect(exports.walks).toBe(1);
+  });
+
+  it('still matches a backticked entry, and reads the set again after it changed', () => {
+    const { cfg, exports, file } = setup(10);
+    expect(resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', 'private_fn', [file])).toBeNull();
+    exports.add('`private_fn`');
+    expect(resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', 'private_fn', [file])).toEqual(['prov/R/a.R']);
+  });
+
+  it('does not walk the export set for an exported name', () => {
+    const { cfg, exports, file } = setup(1_000);
+    expect(resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', 'exported_5', [file])).toEqual(['prov/R/a.R']);
+    expect(exports.walks).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('answers 20,000 lookups against 20,000 exports well inside a generous bound', () => {
+    const { cfg, file } = setup(20_000);
+    const start = performance.now();
+    for (let i = 0; i < 20_000; i++) {
+      resolveRNamedImport(cfg, 'prov', `private_fn_${String(i)}`, [file]);
+    }
+    // One set lookup each: a few milliseconds. The scan this replaced took about two seconds.
+    expect(performance.now() - start).toBeLessThan(500);
+  });
+});