diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5f10dfe0..bc04a58a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,9 +1,3 @@
-# LinearAlgebra
-
-This package is part of the Julia standard library (stdlib).
-
-`LinearAlgebra.jl` provides functionality for performing linear algebra operations in Julia.
-
 | **Build Status**                    | **Coverage**                    |
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 [![Build status](https://badge.buildkite.com/4032f509b3a7354c8ce7b34b98c7496d66adc4504b0101cbcf.svg?branch=master)](https://buildkite.com/julialang/linearalgebra-dot-jl) | [![][codecov-img]][codecov-url] |
diff --git a/src/symmetric.jl b/src/symmetric.jl
index 50f34022..fd4b9ada 100644
--- a/src/symmetric.jl
+++ b/src/symmetric.jl
@@ -1003,6 +1003,7 @@ end
 
 """
     hermitianpart(A::AbstractMatrix, uplo::Symbol=:U) -> Hermitian
+    hermitianpart(x::Number) -> Number
 
 Return the Hermitian part of the square matrix `A`, defined as `(A + A') / 2`, as a
 [`Hermitian`](@ref) matrix. For real matrices `A`, this is also known as the symmetric part
@@ -1016,6 +1017,7 @@ See also [`hermitianpart!`](@ref) for the corresponding in-place operation.
     This function requires Julia 1.10 or later.
 """
 hermitianpart(A::AbstractMatrix, uplo::Symbol=:U) = Hermitian(_hermitianpart(A), uplo)
+hermitianpart(x::Number) = real(x)
 
 """
     hermitianpart!(A::AbstractMatrix, uplo::Symbol=:U) -> Hermitian
diff --git a/test/symmetric.jl b/test/symmetric.jl
index 031dac27..a702dbb8 100644
--- a/test/symmetric.jl
+++ b/test/symmetric.jl
@@ -1035,6 +1035,13 @@ end
         @test Aherm isa Hermitian
         @test Aherm.uplo == LinearAlgebra.char_uplo(uplo)
     end
+    @testset "hermitianpart for numbers" begin
+    @test hermitianpart(3 + 4im) == 3
+    @test hermitianpart(5) == 5.0
+    @test hermitianpart(2.5) == 2.5
+    @test hermitianpart(-1 + 0im) == -1
+    @test typeof(hermitianpart(3 + 4im)) == 3.0
+end
 end
 
 @testset "Structured display" begin