diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
index 071a8b421e..63c838179f 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/main/scala/akka/persistence/Eventsourced.scala
@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ private[persistence] trait Eventsourced extends Snapshotter with PersistenceStas
   /** INTERNAL API. */
   override protected[akka] def aroundPreStart(): Unit = {
     require(persistenceId ne null, s"persistenceId is [null] for PersistentActor [${self.path}]")
+    require(persistenceId.trim.nonEmpty, s"persistenceId cannot be empty for PersistentActor [${self.path}]")
 
     // Fail fast on missing plugins.
     val j = journal; val s = snapshotStore
diff --git a/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorSpec.scala b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorSpec.scala
index eb16fd1659..fe022a6eee 100644
--- a/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-persistence/src/test/scala/akka/persistence/PersistentActorSpec.scala
@@ -692,6 +692,20 @@ abstract class PersistentActorSpec(config: Config) extends PersistenceSpec(confi
         }
       }
     }
+    "fail fast if persistenceId is an empty string" in {
+      import akka.testkit.filterEvents
+      filterEvents(EventFilter[ActorInitializationException]()) {
+        EventFilter.error(message = "persistenceId cannot be empty for PersistentActor") intercept {
+          val ref = system.actorOf(Props(new NamedPersistentActor("  ") {
+            override def receiveRecover: Receive = Actor.emptyBehavior
+
+            override def receiveCommand: Receive = Actor.emptyBehavior
+          }))
+          watch(ref)
+          expectTerminated(ref)
+        }
+      }
+    }
     "recover from persisted events" in {
       val persistentActor = namedPersistentActor[Behavior1PersistentActor]
       persistentActor ! GetState