diff --git a/pod/settings.py b/pod/settings.py
index 65c6e7bb18..13dc3f4e0d 100644
--- a/pod/settings.py
+++ b/pod/settings.py
@@ -397,6 +397,9 @@
 # }
 
 
+REQUIRED_SPEAKER_FIRSTNAME = False
+
+
 ##
 # Applications settings (and settings locale if any)
 #
@@ -493,5 +496,3 @@ def show_toolbar(request):
     and importlib.util.find_spec("django_extensions") is not None
 ):
     INSTALLED_APPS.append("django_extensions")
-
-REQUIRED_SPEAKER_FIRSTNAME = True