diff --git a/openslides/participant/forms.py b/openslides/participant/forms.py
index bff479fdd..72710bf3d 100644
--- a/openslides/participant/forms.py
+++ b/openslides/participant/forms.py
@@ -35,6 +35,16 @@ class UserCreateForm(CssClassMixin, forms.ModelForm):
                   'groups', 'structure_level', 'committee', 'about_me', 'comment',
                   'is_active', 'default_password')
 
+    def clean(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """
+        Ensures that a user has either a first name or a last name.
+        """
+        cleaned_data = super(UserCreateForm, self).clean(*args, **kwargs)
+        if not cleaned_data['first_name'] and not cleaned_data['last_name']:
+            error_msg = _('First name and last name can not both be empty.')
+            raise forms.ValidationError(error_msg)
+        return cleaned_data
+
 
 class UserUpdateForm(UserCreateForm):
     """
diff --git a/openslides/participant/templates/participant/edit.html b/openslides/participant/templates/participant/edit.html
index d0dfc143a..6d890dae1 100644
--- a/openslides/participant/templates/participant/edit.html
+++ b/openslides/participant/templates/participant/edit.html
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
     </h1>
 
     <form action="" method="post">{% csrf_token %}
+        {{ form.non_field_errors }}
         {% include "form.html" %}
         {% if edit_user %}
             <p style="margin: -15px 0 25px 0;">