diff --git a/core/includes/theme.inc b/core/includes/theme.inc
index 4230087..4a6400d 100644
--- a/core/includes/theme.inc
+++ b/core/includes/theme.inc
@@ -1709,8 +1709,6 @@ function theme_mark($variables) {
  * @see http://drupal.org/node/1842756
  */
 function template_preprocess_item_list(&$variables) {
-  $variables['title'] = (string) $variables['title'];
-
   foreach ($variables['items'] as &$item) {
     $attributes = array();
     // If the item value is an array, then it is a render array.
diff --git a/core/modules/system/templates/item-list.html.twig b/core/modules/system/templates/item-list.html.twig
index 34e1802..bd71e7f 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/templates/item-list.html.twig
+++ b/core/modules/system/templates/item-list.html.twig
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 #}
 {%- if items or empty -%}
   <div class="item-list">
-    {%- if title -%}
+    {%- if title is not empty -%}
       <h3>{{ title }}</h3>
     {%- endif -%}
     {%- if items -%}