diff --git a/plugin/azure/azure.go b/plugin/azure/azure.go
index 369d33705..96dda9ec5 100644
--- a/plugin/azure/azure.go
+++ b/plugin/azure/azure.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ type Azure struct {
 // New validates the input DNS zones and initializes the Azure struct.
 func New(ctx context.Context, publicClient publicdns.RecordSetsClient, privateClient privatedns.RecordSetsClient, keys map[string][]string, accessMap map[string]string) (*Azure, error) {
 	zones := make(map[string][]*zone, len(keys))
-	names := make([]string, len(keys))
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(keys))
 	var private bool
 
 	for resourceGroup, znames := range keys {