diff --git a/include/linux/list.h b/include/linux/list.h
index 5ae90b43a..bc63ece95 100644
--- a/include/linux/list.h
+++ b/include/linux/list.h
@@ -291,6 +291,17 @@ static inline void list_splice_init(struct list_head *list,
 #define list_last_entry(head, type, member) \
 	list_entry((head)->prev, type, member)
 
+/**
+ * list_first_entry_or_null - get the first element from a list
+ * @ptr:	the list head to take the element from.
+ * @type:	the type of the struct this is embedded in.
+ * @member:	the name of the list_struct within the struct.
+ *
+ * Note that if the list is empty, it returns NULL.
+ */
+#define list_first_entry_or_null(ptr, type, member) \
+	(!list_empty(ptr) ? list_first_entry(ptr, type, member) : NULL)
+
 /**
  * list_for_each	-	iterate over a list
  * @pos:	the &struct list_head to use as a loop cursor.