diff --git a/fairgraph/kgobject.py b/fairgraph/kgobject.py
index 1108d0fa..6c6cc40a 100644
--- a/fairgraph/kgobject.py
+++ b/fairgraph/kgobject.py
@@ -944,7 +944,7 @@ def by_name(
                         else:
                             cls._instance_lookup[key] = [instance]
             if match == "equals":
-                objects = cls._instance_lookup.get(name, None)
+                objects = cls._instance_lookup.get(name) or []
             elif match == "contains":
                 objects = []
                 for key, instances in cls._instance_lookup.items():