diff --git a/sphinx/themes/basic/layout.html b/sphinx/themes/basic/layout.html
index dd2e2d511..2c8c4d7db 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/basic/layout.html
+++ b/sphinx/themes/basic/layout.html
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
{{ metatags }}
- {%- if not embedded %}
+ {%- if not embedded and docstitle %}
{%- set titlesuffix = " — "|safe + docstitle|e %}
{%- else %}
{%- set titlesuffix = "" %}