diff --git a/OpenRA.Game/Settings.cs b/OpenRA.Game/Settings.cs
index 05962a886c..d42f88e835 100644
--- a/OpenRA.Game/Settings.cs
+++ b/OpenRA.Game/Settings.cs
@@ -334,13 +334,13 @@ namespace OpenRA
 
 			var clean = SanitizedName(dirty);
 
+			if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(clean) || forbiddenNames.Contains(clean) || botNames.Contains(clean))
+				clean = new PlayerSettings().Name;
+
 			// avoid UI glitches
 			if (clean.Length > 16)
 				clean = clean.Substring(0, 16);
 
-			if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(clean) || forbiddenNames.Contains(clean) || botNames.Contains(clean))
-				clean = new PlayerSettings().Name;
-
 			return clean;
 		}