diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/item.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/item.py
index 6ee193b7dd..b47683c2df 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/item.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/item.py
@@ -430,6 +430,7 @@ def _create_item(request):
     # if we add one then we need to also add it to the policy information (i.e. metadata)
     # we should remove this once we can break this reference from the course to static tabs
     if category == 'static_tab':
+        display_name = display_name or _("Empty") # Prevent name being None
         course = store.get_course(dest_usage_key.course_key)
         course.tabs.append(
             StaticTab(
diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_item.py b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_item.py
index 6bb95416e0..74dba2b9a5 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_item.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_item.py
@@ -246,6 +246,17 @@ class TestCreateItem(ItemTest):
         obj = self.get_item_from_modulestore(usage_key)
         self.assertEqual(obj.start, datetime(2030, 1, 1, tzinfo=UTC))
 
+    def test_static_tabs_initialization(self):
+        """
+        Test that static tab display names are not being initialized as None.
+        """
+        # Add a new static tab with no explicit name
+        resp = self.create_xblock(category='static_tab')
+        usage_key = self.response_usage_key(resp)
+
+        # Check that its name is not None
+        new_tab = self.get_item_from_modulestore(usage_key)
+        self.assertEquals(new_tab.display_name, 'Empty') 
 
 class TestDuplicateItem(ItemTest):
     """