diff --git a/docs/sections/header.md b/docs/sections/header.md
index c637a633..e979100d 100644
--- a/docs/sections/header.md
+++ b/docs/sections/header.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ If any of this configuration is set, then your header will show at the top of th
 
 ## Add components to the header navbar
 
-There are three configuration options you can use in `html_theme_options`:
+There are four configuration options you can use in `html_theme_options`:
 
 **`navbar_start`**: Adds components to the beginning of the header. **Visible on all screen sizes**. Use this for adding a logo that you want to persist over time.
 
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ There are three configuration options you can use in `html_theme_options`:
 
 **`navbar_end`**: Adds components to the end of the header. **Moved to the sizebar on mobile**. Use this for extra social links or buttons.
 
+**`navbar_persistent`**: Adds components to the end of the header that stay there on mobile rather than moving to the sidebar.
+
 ## An example
 
 For example, you can add a button to the header like so:
diff --git a/src/sphinx_book_theme/__init__.py b/src/sphinx_book_theme/__init__.py
index 4c583c97..130959db 100644
--- a/src/sphinx_book_theme/__init__.py
+++ b/src/sphinx_book_theme/__init__.py
@@ -166,6 +166,15 @@ def update_mode_thebe_config(app):
     app.env.config.thebe_config = thebe_config
 
 
+def update_navbar_defaults(app):
+    """Keep the top navbar empty unless the user asks for something in it.
+
+    Without this, the pydata theme adds a search button to the navbar.
+    """
+    theme_options = get_theme_options_dict(app)
+    theme_options.setdefault("navbar_persistent", [])
+
+
 def check_deprecation_keys(app):
     """Warns about the deprecated keys."""
 
@@ -218,6 +227,9 @@ def setup(app: Sphinx):
     app.add_message_catalog(MESSAGE_CATALOG_NAME, locale_dir)
 
     # Events
+    app.connect(
+        "builder-inited", update_navbar_defaults, priority=400
+    )  # before pydata theme
     app.connect("builder-inited", update_mode_thebe_config)
     app.connect("builder-inited", check_deprecation_keys)
     app.connect("builder-inited", update_sourcename)
diff --git a/src/sphinx_book_theme/theme/sphinx_book_theme/layout.html b/src/sphinx_book_theme/theme/sphinx_book_theme/layout.html
index 0d56fc1f..d50761fc 100644
--- a/src/sphinx_book_theme/theme/sphinx_book_theme/layout.html
+++ b/src/sphinx_book_theme/theme/sphinx_book_theme/layout.html
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 {% extends "pydata_sphinx_theme/layout.html" %}
 {# ref: https://github.com/pydata/pydata-sphinx-theme/blob/master/src/pydata_sphinx_theme/theme/pydata_sphinx_theme/layout.html #}
 
+{# Skip <header> when no navbar area has any content in it. #}
+{% block docs_navbar %}
+{%- if theme_navbar_start or theme_navbar_center or theme_navbar_end or theme_navbar_persistent %}
+{{ super() }}
+{%- endif %}
+{% endblock docs_navbar %}
+
+
 {% block docs_main %}
 {# A tiny helper pixel to detect if we've scrolled #}
 <div class="sbt-scroll-pixel-helper"></div>
diff --git a/tests/test_build.py b/tests/test_build.py
index 360a01f0..5fb1c9f0 100644
--- a/tests/test_build.py
+++ b/tests/test_build.py
@@ -151,6 +151,26 @@ def test_navbar_options_home_page_in_toc(sphinx_build_factory):
     assert "Index with code in title" in str(li)
 
 
+def test_no_navbar_by_default(sphinx_build_factory):
+    """The top navbar is opt-in, so nothing should be rendered for it."""
+    sphinx_build = sphinx_build_factory("base").build(assert_pass=True)  # type: SphinxBuild
+    index = sphinx_build.html_tree("index.html")
+    assert index.find(id="pst-header") is None
+    # The only search button is the one in the primary sidebar
+    search_buttons = index.select("button.search-button-field")
+    assert len(search_buttons) == 1
+    assert search_buttons[0].find_parent(id="pst-primary-sidebar") is not None
+
+
+def test_navbar_opt_in(sphinx_build_factory):
+    """Filling in any navbar area brings the top navbar back."""
+    sphinx_build = sphinx_build_factory(
+        "base",
+        confoverrides={"html_theme_options.navbar_center": ["navbar-nav.html"]},
+    ).build(assert_pass=True)  # type: SphinxBuild
+    assert sphinx_build.html_tree("index.html").find(id="pst-header") is not None
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "option,value",
     [