diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/55741-apt-names-strip-whitespaces.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/55741-apt-names-strip-whitespaces.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a7884ec1504
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/55741-apt-names-strip-whitespaces.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - apt - strip whitespaces in package names (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/55741)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/apt.py b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/apt.py
index 3f488fcb2a8..41c3bc5b678 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/apt.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/packaging/os/apt.py
@@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ def main():
                         force=force_yes, dpkg_options=p['dpkg_options'])
 
         unfiltered_packages = p['package'] or ()
-        packages = [package for package in unfiltered_packages if package != '*']
+        packages = [package.strip() for package in unfiltered_packages if package != '*']
         all_installed = '*' in unfiltered_packages
         latest = p['state'] == 'latest'