diff --git a/lib/linguist/language.rb b/lib/linguist/language.rb
index bc65a053..07585bb0 100644
--- a/lib/linguist/language.rb
+++ b/lib/linguist/language.rb
@@ -242,6 +242,7 @@ module Linguist
     #
     # Returns the Language or nil if none was found.
     def self.[](name)
+      return nil if name.to_s.empty?
       name && (@index[name.downcase] || @index[name.split(',').first.downcase])
     end
 
diff --git a/test/test_language.rb b/test/test_language.rb
index 176abac4..5da3b8c7 100644
--- a/test/test_language.rb
+++ b/test/test_language.rb
@@ -278,6 +278,7 @@ class TestLanguage < Minitest::Test
   def test_doesnt_blow_up_with_blank_lookup
     assert_equal nil, Language.find_by_alias('')
     assert_equal nil, Language.find_by_name(nil)
+    assert_equal nil, Language[""]
   end
 
   def test_name