diff --git a/user.inc.php b/user.inc.php
index f671ec8..bba9bc7 100644
--- a/user.inc.php
+++ b/user.inc.php
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ function user_load($user, $uid = false)
 	$ret['types'] = $ts; /* Now we can use in_array('judge', $ret['types']) ; */
 
 	/* Convenience */
-	$ret['name'] = $ret['firstname'].' '.$ret['lastname'];
+	$ret['name'] = ($ret['firstname'] ? "{$ret['firstname']} " : '').$ret['lastname'];
 
 	/* Email recipient for "to" field on emails */
 	if( ($ret['firstname'] || $ret['lastname']) && $ret['email']) {