diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/memory_extraction.py b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/memory_extraction.py
index 5a056cb35..221c4c75a 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/memory_extraction.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/memory_extraction.py
@@ -131,7 +131,9 @@ async def extract_and_save_memory(
 
             old_memory = user.memory_md
             first_name = (
-                user.display_name.split()[0] if user.display_name else "The user"
+                user.display_name.strip().split()[0]
+                if user.display_name and user.display_name.strip()
+                else "The user"
             )
             prompt = _MEMORY_EXTRACT_PROMPT.format(
                 current_memory=old_memory or "(empty)",
diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/memory_injection.py b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/memory_injection.py
index 74a9611fd..6179adccd 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/memory_injection.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/middleware/memory_injection.py
@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ class MemoryInjectionMiddleware(AgentMiddleware):  # type: ignore[type-arg]
                         )
             elif self.user_id is not None:
                 user_memory, display_name = await self._load_user_memory(session)
-                if display_name:
-                    first_name = display_name.split()[0]
+                if display_name and display_name.strip():
+                    first_name = display_name.strip().split()[0]
                     memory_blocks.append(f"<user_name>{first_name}</user_name>")
                 if user_memory:
                     chars = len(user_memory)
diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/routes/memory_routes.py b/surfsense_backend/app/routes/memory_routes.py
index e182960b9..f5df45cf1 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/routes/memory_routes.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/routes/memory_routes.py
@@ -107,7 +107,11 @@ async def edit_user_memory(
 
     await session.refresh(user, ["memory_md", "display_name"])
     current_memory = user.memory_md or ""
-    first_name = user.display_name.split()[0] if user.display_name else "The user"
+    first_name = (
+        user.display_name.strip().split()[0]
+        if user.display_name and user.display_name.strip()
+        else "The user"
+    )
 
     prompt = _MEMORY_EDIT_PROMPT.format(
         current_memory=current_memory or "(empty)",