diff --git a/.changeset/slick-worms-drum.md b/.changeset/slick-worms-drum.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4fb170655b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/slick-worms-drum.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/core-components': patch
+---
+
+Fixes for rendering initials in the avatar component.
diff --git a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/util.test.ts b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/util.test.ts
index 98d0bd2550..123526973b 100644
--- a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/util.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/util.test.ts
@@ -42,4 +42,24 @@ describe('extractInitials', () => {
   it('removes spaces from beginning or the end', () => {
     expect(extractInitials(' John Jonathan Doe ')).toEqual('JD');
   });
+
+  it('handles any sequence of whitespace between words', () => {
+    expect(extractInitials('John\tJonathan   Doe')).toEqual('JD');
+    expect(extractInitials('  John\nDoe  ')).toEqual('JD');
+    expect(extractInitials('John\r\nDoe')).toEqual('JD');
+  });
+
+  it('removes bracketed content from initials', () => {
+    expect(extractInitials('John Doe (jd1234)')).toEqual('JD');
+    expect(extractInitials('Jane Smith [js5678]')).toEqual('JS');
+    expect(extractInitials('Alice (admin) Johnson')).toEqual('AJ');
+    expect(extractInitials('(admin) Alice Johnson')).toEqual('AJ');
+  });
+
+  it('removes non-letter characters from initials', () => {
+    expect(extractInitials('John D0e!')).toEqual('JD');
+    expect(extractInitials("Ann-Marie O'Neil")).toEqual('AO');
+    expect(extractInitials('Élodie Brûlé!')).toEqual('ÉB');
+    expect(extractInitials('Doe1231*')).toEqual('D');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
index 65e2be6afa..01fde6ffc0 100644
--- a/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/core-components/src/components/Avatar/utils.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,13 @@ export function stringToColor(str: string) {
 }
 
 export function extractInitials(name: string) {
-  const names = name.trim().split(' ');
+  const names = name
+    .replace(/\([^)]{0,1000}\)/g, '')
+    .replace(/\[[^\]]{0,1000}\]/g, '')
+    .trim()
+    .split(/\s+/)
+    .map(word => word.replace(/[^A-Za-z\u00C0-\u017F]/g, ''))
+    .filter(Boolean);
   const firstName = names[0] ?? '';
   const lastName = names.length > 1 ? names[names.length - 1] : '';
   return firstName && lastName