This Man's 2,253-Word Name Makes World Record, Leads To Legislative Reform

Long names play a significant role in many cultures, reflecting traditions and societal structures. In South India, names often include the village, father's name, and given name. In the Arab world, names follow a patronymic system, including the individual's, father's, grandfather's, and sometimes family or tribal names, emphasizing lineage and heritage. Similar traditions are also followed in Western countries. Famous examples include Billie Eilish, whose full name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell, and Pablo Picasso, whose complete name is Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. While these names are impressively long, they are nothing compared to Laurence Watkins, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest personal name.

In March 1990, Laurence, who was born in New Zealand, legally changed his name to include over 2,000 middle names. This extraordinary change earned him a Guinness World Records title for the longest personal name, totalling 2,253 unique words.

Speaking to GWR, he explained: "I was always fascinated by the quirky unusual records that some people went for and I really wanted to be part of that scene. I read the Guinness World Records book from cover to cover to see if there was a record I could beat and the only one I had a chance at beating was adding more names than the current holder."

The process was long, made harder by the limited use of computers at the time, and Laurence paid several hundred dollars to have his full list of names typed. His application was initially approved by the District Court but rejected by the Registrar General. Undeterred, Laurence appealed to the High Court of New Zealand, which ruled in his favour. Shortly after, two laws were changed to prevent similar cases. The record, originally listed as 2,310 names, was later revised to 2,253 following updated Guinness guidelines. 

According to Guinness World Records, Laurence worked in the city library at the time and picked names out of books and through recommendations from co-workers. "My favourite name is AZ2000 meaning I have names from A-Z and I have 2000 names."

He says people usually can't take it in when he tells them how many names he has. The main challenge it's caused him is with government departments, as they unsurprisingly can't fit his full name on any forms of identification.