diff --git a/include/spdlog/cfg/log_levels.h b/include/spdlog/cfg/log_levels.h
index ba3b2f75..3b8e6797 100644
--- a/include/spdlog/cfg/log_levels.h
+++ b/include/spdlog/cfg/log_levels.h
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#include <spdlog/common.h>
+#include <spdlog/logger.h>
 #include <string>
 #include <unordered_map>
 
@@ -17,30 +17,30 @@ class log_levels
 public:
     void set(const std::string &logger_name, level::level_enum lvl)
     {
-        if (logger_name.empty())
-        {
-            default_level_ = lvl;
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            levels_[logger_name] = lvl;
-        }
+        levels_[logger_name] = lvl;
     }
 
     void set_default(level::level_enum lvl)
     {
-        default_level_ = lvl;
+        levels_[""] = lvl;
     }
 
-    level::level_enum get(const std::string &logger_name)
+    // configure log level of given logger if it appears in the config list or if default level is set
+    void update_logger_level(spdlog::logger &logger)
     {
+        auto &logger_name = logger.name();
         auto it = levels_.find(logger_name);
-        return it != levels_.end() ? it->second : default_level_;
-    }
 
-    level::level_enum default_level()
-    {
-        return default_level_;
+        // if logger was not configured, check if default log level was configured
+        if (it == levels_.end())
+        {
+            it = levels_.find(""); //
+        }
+
+        if (it != levels_.end())
+        {
+            logger.set_level(it->second);
+        }
     }
 };
 } // namespace cfg
diff --git a/include/spdlog/details/registry-inl.h b/include/spdlog/details/registry-inl.h
index 33835d80..0a25fb46 100644
--- a/include/spdlog/details/registry-inl.h
+++ b/include/spdlog/details/registry-inl.h
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ SPDLOG_INLINE void registry::initialize_logger(std::shared_ptr<logger> new_logge
         new_logger->set_error_handler(err_handler_);
     }
 
-    new_logger->set_level(levels_.get(new_logger->name()));
+    levels_.update_logger_level(*new_logger);
+
     new_logger->flush_on(flush_level_);
 
     if (backtrace_n_messages_ > 0)
@@ -270,7 +271,7 @@ SPDLOG_INLINE void registry::update_levels(cfg::log_levels levels)
     for (auto &l : loggers_)
     {
         auto &logger = l.second;
-        logger->set_level(levels_.get(logger->name()));
+        levels_.update_logger_level(*logger);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cfg.cpp b/tests/test_cfg.cpp
index 2e86210e..69499e1c 100644
--- a/tests/test_cfg.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_cfg.cpp
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ TEST_CASE("argv7", "[cfg]")
     spdlog::set_level(spdlog::level::info);
 }
 
-TEST_CASE("level-not-found-test1", "[cfg]")
+TEST_CASE("level-not-set-test1", "[cfg]")
 {
     spdlog::drop("l1");
     const char *argv[] = {"ignore", ""};
@@ -103,10 +103,30 @@ TEST_CASE("level-not-found-test1", "[cfg]")
     REQUIRE(spdlog::default_logger()->level() == spdlog::level::info);
 }
 
-TEST_CASE("level-not-found-test2", "[cfg]")
+TEST_CASE("level-not-set-test2", "[cfg]")
 {
     spdlog::drop("l1");
+    spdlog::drop("l2");
     const char *argv[] = {"ignore", "SPDLOG_LEVEL=l1=trace"};
+
+    auto l1 = spdlog::create<spdlog::sinks::test_sink_st>("l1");
+    l1->set_level(spdlog::level::warn);
+    auto l2 = spdlog::create<spdlog::sinks::test_sink_st>("l2");
+    l2->set_level(spdlog::level::warn);
+
+    load_argv_levels(2, argv);
+
+    REQUIRE(l1->level() == spdlog::level::trace);
+    REQUIRE(l2->level() == spdlog::level::warn);
+    REQUIRE(spdlog::default_logger()->level() == spdlog::level::info);
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("level-not-set-test3", "[cfg]")
+{
+    spdlog::drop("l1");
+    spdlog::drop("l2");
+    const char *argv[] = {"ignore", "SPDLOG_LEVEL=l1=trace"};
+
     load_argv_levels(2, argv);
 
     auto l1 = spdlog::create<spdlog::sinks::test_sink_st>("l1");
@@ -116,3 +136,19 @@ TEST_CASE("level-not-found-test2", "[cfg]")
     REQUIRE(l2->level() == spdlog::level::info);
     REQUIRE(spdlog::default_logger()->level() == spdlog::level::info);
 }
+
+TEST_CASE("level-not-set-test4", "[cfg]")
+{
+    spdlog::drop("l1");
+    spdlog::drop("l2");
+    const char *argv[] = {"ignore", "SPDLOG_LEVEL=l1=trace,warn"};
+
+    load_argv_levels(2, argv);
+
+    auto l1 = spdlog::create<spdlog::sinks::test_sink_st>("l1");
+    auto l2 = spdlog::create<spdlog::sinks::test_sink_st>("l2");
+
+    REQUIRE(l1->level() == spdlog::level::trace);
+    REQUIRE(l2->level() == spdlog::level::warn);
+    REQUIRE(spdlog::default_logger()->level() == spdlog::level::warn);
+}