diff --git a/app/helpers/api_helper.rb b/app/helpers/api_helper.rb
index 274bfc552..49640d889 100644
--- a/app/helpers/api_helper.rb
+++ b/app/helpers/api_helper.rb
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ module ApiHelper
 
   def get_user_realname user
     name = user.lastname + user.firstname
-    name.empty? || name.nil? ? user.login : name
+    name.empty? || name.nil? || name == " " ? user.login : name
   end
 
   def get_assigned_homeworks(homeworks, n, index)