diff --git a/src/Avatar.js b/src/Avatar.js
index 2e15874b4e..17860698cb 100644
--- a/src/Avatar.js
+++ b/src/Avatar.js
@@ -67,6 +67,11 @@ module.exports = {
      * @return {string} the first letter
      */
     getInitialLetter(name) {
+        if (!name) {
+            // XXX: We should find out what causes the name to sometimes be falsy.
+            console.trace("`name` argument to `getInitialLetter` not supplied");
+            return undefined;
+        }
         if (name.length < 1) {
             return undefined;
         }