diff --git a/window.c b/window.c
index e3b20a3e..21bf366f 100644
--- a/window.c
+++ b/window.c
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ window_create(u_int sx, u_int sy)
 	struct window	*w;
 
 	w = xcalloc(1, sizeof *w);
-	w->name = NULL;
+	w->name = xstrdup("");
 	w->flags = 0;
 
 	TAILQ_INIT(&w->panes);