diff --git a/index.ts b/index.ts
index 744a6670..44ca81c4 100755
--- a/index.ts
+++ b/index.ts
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ async function init() {
   // so we still have to assign the default values here
   const {
     projectName,
-    packageName = projectName ?? defaultProjectName,
+    packageName = projectName.trim() || defaultProjectName,
     shouldOverwrite = argv.force as boolean,
     needsJsx = argv.jsx as boolean,
     needsTypeScript = (argv.ts || argv.typescript) as boolean,