Man holds world's longest name, takes 20 minutes to recite!
What's the story
Laurence Watkins, a retired security personnel from Auckland, New Zealand, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest personal name. His full name is an astonishing 2,253 words long and takes about 20 minutes to recite in its entirety! The record was recently updated by Guinness World Records after reclassifying his original title of longest Christian name.
Name change
How Watkins got the idea for his new name
Watkins, who was born Laurence Gregory Watkins in 1965, changed his name in 1990 by adding 2,250 names to his original birth name. He got the idea from Ripley's Believe It or Not!, a TV show featuring incredible facts about extraordinary people and places. Inspired by this, he decided to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records by having the longest name.
Name selection
Watkins spent a month deciding on his new name
Watkins spent a month deciding on his new name, which he typed out on six pages with the help of a typist. He drew inspiration from Latin and Old English names, famous personalities, Name Your Baby books at Auckland Library where he worked, and a Maori dictionary. Despite having no cultural ties to Maori culture, Watkins was fascinated by their language.
Legal battle
The legal battle for his name change
After typing out his new name, Watkins submitted a legal application to change his name in 1990. While Auckland District Court approved his request, he was denied by the Registrar General. However, he won the case after arguing that there was no legal basis for the government to deny his name change at that time.
Recognition
For everyday use, he shortens his name to Laurence Alon
Watkins received his new name two years later and was awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for the world's longest Christian name, originally totaling 2,310 words. Last month, the record was reviewed and reclassified as the "world's longest personal name," with a corrected count of 2,253 individual names to reflect accuracy. For daily purposes, he goes by Laurence Alon Aloy Watkins.