diff --git a/src/js/_enqueues/wp/theme.js b/src/js/_enqueues/wp/theme.js
index f4ea7d57a2..63abe50c2a 100644
--- a/src/js/_enqueues/wp/theme.js
+++ b/src/js/_enqueues/wp/theme.js
@@ -1965,7 +1965,7 @@ themes.RunInstaller = {
 		// Set up the view.
 		// Passes the default 'section' as an option.
 		this.view = new themes.view.Installer({
-			section: 'featured',
+			section: 'popular',
 			SearchView: themes.view.InstallerSearch
 		});
 
@@ -2032,12 +2032,12 @@ themes.RunInstaller = {
 		/*
 		 * Handles sorting / browsing routes.
 		 * Also handles the root URL triggering a sort request
-		 * for `featured`, the default view.
+		 * for `popular`, the default view.
 		 */
 		themes.router.on( 'route:sort', function( sort ) {
 			if ( ! sort ) {
-				sort = 'featured';
-				themes.router.navigate( themes.router.baseUrl( '?browse=featured' ), { replace: true } );
+				sort = 'popular';
+				themes.router.navigate( themes.router.baseUrl( '?browse=popular' ), { replace: true } );
 			}
 			self.view.sort( sort );
 
diff --git a/src/wp-admin/theme-install.php b/src/wp-admin/theme-install.php
index 9695a8f210..4d377d831a 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/theme-install.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/theme-install.php
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ $help_overview =
 		__( 'https://wordpress.org/themes/' )
 	) . '</p>' .
 	'<p>' . __( 'You can Search for themes by keyword, author, or tag, or can get more specific and search by criteria listed in the feature filter.' ) . ' <span id="live-search-desc">' . __( 'The search results will be updated as you type.' ) . '</span></p>' .
-	'<p>' . __( 'Alternately, you can browse the themes that are Featured, Popular, or Latest. When you find a theme you like, you can preview it or install it.' ) . '</p>' .
+	'<p>' . __( 'Alternately, you can browse the themes that are Popular or Latest. When you find a theme you like, you can preview it or install it.' ) . '</p>' .
 	'<p>' . sprintf(
 		/* translators: %s: /wp-content/themes */
 		__( 'You can Upload a theme manually if you have already downloaded its ZIP archive onto your computer (make sure it is from a trusted and original source). You can also do it the old-fashioned way and copy a downloaded theme&#8217;s folder via FTP into your %s directory.' ),
@@ -181,7 +181,6 @@ require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/admin-header.php';
 		</div>
 
 		<ul class="filter-links">
-			<li><a href="#" data-sort="featured"><?php _ex( 'Featured', 'themes' ); ?></a></li>
 			<li><a href="#" data-sort="popular"><?php _ex( 'Popular', 'themes' ); ?></a></li>
 			<li><a href="#" data-sort="new"><?php _ex( 'Latest', 'themes' ); ?></a></li>
 			<li><a href="#" data-sort="favorites"><?php _ex( 'Favorites', 'themes' ); ?></a></li>