diff --git a/nomad/groups.py b/nomad/groups.py
index 3ae4cc3b8e525c606192de940f2bd37afe3cc29d..ba834cbd4bcb44ff0c4c7e8ac9d341f3bd9a6603 100644
--- a/nomad/groups.py
+++ b/nomad/groups.py
@@ -73,11 +73,11 @@ class UserGroup(Document):
         """
         Returns UserGroup objects where group_name includes search_terms (no case).
         """
-        search_terms = str(search_terms).split()
-        if not search_terms:
+        split_terms = str(search_terms).split()
+        if not split_terms:
             return []
 
-        query = (Q(group_name__icontains=term) for term in search_terms)
+        query = (Q(group_name__icontains=term) for term in split_terms)
         query = reduce(operator.and_, query)
         user_groups = cls.objects(query)
         return user_groups