diff --git a/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/entity/CraftEntity.java b/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/entity/CraftEntity.java
index f0a52de5bd..576567774e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/entity/CraftEntity.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/bukkit/craftbukkit/entity/CraftEntity.java
@@ -527,12 +527,8 @@ public abstract class CraftEntity implements org.bukkit.entity.Entity {
 
     @Override
     public void setCustomName(String name) {
-        if (name == null) {
-            name = "";
-        }
-
         // sane limit for name length
-        if (name.length() > 256) {
+        if (name != null && name.length() > 256) {
             name = name.substring(0, 256);
         }