diff --git a/classes/identity/Identity.php b/classes/identity/Identity.php
index 522c5e4ee10..4c5ceedd27d 100644
--- a/classes/identity/Identity.php
+++ b/classes/identity/Identity.php
@@ -201,6 +201,23 @@ public function setPreferredPublicName($preferredPublicName, $locale)
         $this->setData('preferredPublicName', $preferredPublicName, $locale);
     }
 
+
+    /**
+     * Set preferred avatar initials.
+     */
+    public function setPreferredAvatarInitials(string $preferredAvatarInitials, ?string $locale): void
+    {
+        $this->setData('preferredAvatarInitials', $preferredAvatarInitials, $locale);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get preferred avatar initials.
+     */
+    public function getPreferredAvatarInitials(?string $locale): ?string
+    {
+        return $this->getData('preferredAvatarInitials', $locale);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Get affiliation (position, institution, etc.).
      *
diff --git a/classes/user/form/IdentityForm.php b/classes/user/form/IdentityForm.php
index f1e237b190b..0fc0da6348f 100644
--- a/classes/user/form/IdentityForm.php
+++ b/classes/user/form/IdentityForm.php
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 use APP\core\Application;
 use APP\template\TemplateManager;
+use Illuminate\Support\Str;
 use PKP\orcid\OrcidManager;
 use PKP\user\User;
 
@@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ public function initData()
             'familyName' => $user->getFamilyName(null),
             'preferredPublicName' => $user->getPreferredPublicName(null),
             'orcid' => $user->getOrcid(),
+            'preferredAvatarInitials' => $user->getPreferredAvatarInitials(null),
         ];
     }
 
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ public function readInputData()
         parent::readInputData();
 
         $this->readUserVars([
-            'givenName', 'familyName', 'preferredPublicName', 'orcid','removeOrcidId'
+            'givenName', 'familyName', 'preferredPublicName', 'orcid', 'removeOrcidId', 'preferredAvatarInitials'
         ]);
     }
 
@@ -123,7 +125,7 @@ public function execute(...$functionArgs)
 
 
         // Request to delete ORCID token is handled separately from other form field updates
-        if($this->getData('removeOrcidId') === 'true') {
+        if ($this->getData('removeOrcidId') === 'true') {
             $user->setOrcid(null);
             $user->setOrcidVerified(false);
             OrcidManager::removeOrcidAccessToken($user);
@@ -131,6 +133,7 @@ public function execute(...$functionArgs)
             $user->setGivenName($this->getData('givenName'), null);
             $user->setFamilyName($this->getData('familyName'), null);
             $user->setPreferredPublicName($this->getData('preferredPublicName'), null);
+            $user->setPreferredAvatarInitials(trim(Str::upper($this->getData('preferredAvatarInitials') ?? '')), null);
         }
 
         parent::execute(...$functionArgs);
diff --git a/locale/en/user.po b/locale/en/user.po
index 1d9a96a9848..3b4976478cf 100644
--- a/locale/en/user.po
+++ b/locale/en/user.po
@@ -239,6 +239,13 @@ msgstr ""
 "Please provide the full name as the author should be identified on the "
 "published work. Example: Dr. Alan P. Mwandenga"
 
+msgid "user.preferredAvatarInitials"
+msgstr "Preferred Avatar Initials"
+
+msgid "user.preferredAvatarInitials.description"
+msgstr ""
+"Enter the two letters you’d like to use as your avatar. These initials will be displayed to represent you."
+
 msgid "user.profile.changePasswordInstructions"
 msgstr ""
 "Enter your current and new passwords below to change the password for your "
diff --git a/schemas/user.json b/schemas/user.json
index d10b7de76e8..57c5618fac2 100644
--- a/schemas/user.json
+++ b/schemas/user.json
@@ -217,6 +217,16 @@
 				"nullable"
 			]
 		},
+		"preferredAvatarInitials": {
+			"type": "string",
+			"description": "An optional field for users to specify the initials that they want to be displayed in their avatars.",
+			"multilingual": false,
+			"apiSummary": true,
+			"validation": [
+				"nullable",
+				"max:2"
+			]
+		},
 		"signature": {
 			"type": "string",
 			"multilingual": true,
diff --git a/templates/user/identityForm.tpl b/templates/user/identityForm.tpl
index 3ae4e9be939..b84046a5a8f 100644
--- a/templates/user/identityForm.tpl
+++ b/templates/user/identityForm.tpl
@@ -22,6 +22,13 @@
 				$('#removeOrcidId').remove();
 			}
 		});
+
+		$(function() {ldelim}
+			$('input[name="preferredAvatarInitials"]').on('keyup', function() {
+				const capitalizedValue = $(this).val().toUpperCase().trim();
+				$(this).val(capitalizedValue);
+			});
+			{rdelim});
 	{rdelim});
 </script>
 
@@ -42,7 +49,7 @@
 	{fbvFormArea id="userFormCompactLeft"}
 		{fbvFormSection title="user.name"}
 			{fbvElement type="text" label="user.givenName" multilingual="true" required="true" id="givenName" value=$givenName maxlength="255" inline=true size=$fbvStyles.size.MEDIUM}
-			{fbvElement type="text" label="user.familyName" multilingual="true" id="familyName" value=$familyName maxlength="255" inline=true size=$fbvStyles.size.MEDIUM}
+			{fbvElement type="text" label="user.familyName" multilingual="true" id="familyName" value=$familyName maxlength="255" inline=true size=$fbvStyles.size.MEDIUM  onkeyup="this.value = this.value.toUpperCase();"}
 		{/fbvFormSection}
 	{/fbvFormArea}
 
@@ -50,6 +57,11 @@
 		{fbvElement type="text" label="user.preferredPublicName" multilingual="true" name="preferredPublicName" id="preferredPublicName" value=$preferredPublicName size=$fbvStyles.size.LARGE}
 	{/fbvFormSection}
 
+
+	{fbvFormSection for="preferredAvatarInitials" description="user.preferredAvatarInitials.description"}
+		{fbvElement type="text" label="user.preferredAvatarInitials" name="preferredAvatarInitials" maxlength="2" id="preferredAvatarInitials" value=$preferredAvatarInitials size=$fbvStyles.size.SMALL}
+	{/fbvFormSection}
+
 	{if $orcidEnabled}
 
 	<div class="orcid_container">