Name game: How the world's longest middle name resulted in a court battle

A man from New Zealand holds the record for having the world’s longest name — one so lengthy it takes nearly 20 minutes to say from start to finish.

Laurence Watkins, as he’s known in short, didn’t just stumble into the record; he fought hard for it, battling through legal hurdles and even prompting changes to the national laws along the way.

His Guinness World Record-winning name includes 2,253 unique middle names, stretching across six pages when written in full.

Here’s the fascinating story behind Watkins’ marathon of a name.

Why so many middle names?

For Watkins, the world’s longest name wasn’t just about setting a record, it was about being part of something delightfully unusual.

“I was always fascinated by the quirky, unusual records that some people went for, and I really wanted to be part of that scene,” Watkins told record keeping organisation. “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.”

More from Explainers

This Week in Explainers: How a US shutdown affects American as well as Indian lives History Today: When Harvey Weinstein was exposed in a scandal that shook Hollywood

Once he decided to go for it, Watkins began collecting name suggestions from friends, family, and even coworkers. The result was a truly global mix, with middle names inspired by cultures from the West Asia, Asia, Polynesia, Europe, and beyond.

“I chose Lord, Duke, King and Saint as some of my names,” Watkins said. “I sort of rubbed it in their faces, and one of the two laws they changed after I won was that you couldn’t have a title as your name in New Zealand.”

His incredible list includes everything from words like ‘love’ and ‘math’, to fictional characters like ‘Sherlock’, ancient gods such as ‘Dionysus’, and even foods like ‘tofu’.

Editor’s Picks

1

World's most premature baby turns 1, gets Guinness World Record. Who is Nash Keen? 2

Ukrainian soldier breaks world record of longest kill shot: Here's how

🗣️Meet Lawrence Watkins, the owner of the world's longest name, which consists of 2,253 words (see the full picture).🗣️He changed his real name back in the 1990s, which required him to sue New Zealand authorities, who didn't want to change his documents. After this precedent, the… pic.twitter.com/LkgbPhW78v

— mặt🌓trăng (@Ay911Moon) October 11, 2025

But holding such a colossal name isn’t all fun and fame. Watkins admits it comes with plenty of practical challenges — his full name can’t fit on any official documents, and at his wedding, it took him over 20 minutes to say the entire thing.

Among his 2,253 names, Watkins has a personal favourite: AZ2000. “It means I have names from A to Z and I have 2,000 names,” he explained proudly.

The legal battle

Getting his name officially recognised wasn’t as simple as signing a paper, it turned into a full-fledged court fight.

At first, the District Court approved Watkins’ request, but the Registrar-General later refused to register it, calling it impractical for official use.

“He called me frivolous, and he said the only way I would force him to go ahead and register my name is if I took him to the High Court,” Watkins recalled, according to The Sun.

Determined not to back down, Watkins appealed the decision and took his case to the High Court, where he eventually won. The court ruled in his favour, declaring his right to keep the record-breaking name.

The victory came with some unusual consequences. Watkins’ old New Zealand passport had an extra six pages stitched into it just to fit all his names, while his birth certificate had another six pages added to the back.

Initially, Guinness World Records recognised him for having 2,310 names, but that figure was revised this week to 2,253 after a change in record-keeping guidelines. Even Watkins admits he can’t remember all of them, and said it took him hours just to count each one.

Soon after his case, two laws were changed in New Zealand to stop anyone else from attempting a similar feat.

“I’m hoping it will be in next year’s [Guinness] book, unless somebody in the world beats me in the meantime,” Watkins said. “Even if I lose the world record, nobody in New Zealand can beat my record, because of the law change.”

With input from agencies