diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/HostingEnvironmentExtensions.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/HostingEnvironmentExtensions.cs
index 7cb72971..6b650697 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/HostingEnvironmentExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/HostingEnvironmentExtensions.cs
@@ -15,10 +15,6 @@ public static void Initialize(this IHostingEnvironment hostingEnvironment, strin
             {
                 throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(options));
             }
-            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(applicationName))
-            {
-                throw new ArgumentException("A valid non-empty application name must be provided.", nameof(applicationName));
-            }
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(contentRootPath))
             {
                 throw new ArgumentException("A valid non-empty content root must be provided.", nameof(contentRootPath));
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/WebHostOptions.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/WebHostOptions.cs
index 10a7a8ec..2a3e1ce4 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/WebHostOptions.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting/Internal/WebHostOptions.cs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ public WebHostOptions(IConfiguration configuration)
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(startupAssembly))
             {
                 // Fall back to entry assembly name if startup assembly hasn't been set.
-                startupAssembly = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().GetName().Name;
+                startupAssembly = Assembly.GetEntryAssembly()?.GetName().Name;
             }
 
             var applicationName = configuration[WebHostDefaults.ApplicationKey];
diff --git a/test/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Tests/WebHostBuilderTests.cs b/test/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Tests/WebHostBuilderTests.cs
index f484f57d..5c6a668b 100644
--- a/test/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Tests/WebHostBuilderTests.cs
+++ b/test/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting.Tests/WebHostBuilderTests.cs
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ public void DefaultApplicationNameWithInjectedIStartup()
                 .Build())
             {
                 var hostingEnv = host.Services.GetService<IHostingEnvironment>();
-                Assert.Equal(Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().GetName().Name, hostingEnv.ApplicationName);
+                Assert.Equal(Assembly.GetEntryAssembly()?.GetName().Name, hostingEnv.ApplicationName);
             }
         }