diff --git a/tailbone/views/people.py b/tailbone/views/people.py
index de970119..6e72fe1f 100644
--- a/tailbone/views/people.py
+++ b/tailbone/views/people.py
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ class PersonView(MasterView):
             names['middle'] = data['middle_name']
         if 'last_name' in form:
             names['last'] = data['last_name']
-        if 'display_name' in form:
+        if 'display_name' in form and 'display_name' not in form.readonly_fields:
             names['full'] = data['display_name']
 
         # TODO: why do we find colander.null values in data at this point?