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Guinness Confirms 2,253-Word Longest Personal Name After Rules Update

New Zealand’s stricter naming rules now prevent others from attempting a similar change.

Overview

  • Guinness updated Laurence Watkins’ record entry this week from an earlier 2,310-name count to 2,253 under revised guidelines.
  • Watkins legally added more than 2,000 middle names in 1990, winning a High Court case after the Registrar General objected.
  • Officials subsequently barred title-like names and introduced practical length limits in response to the case.
  • His full name does not fit standard identification, leading to six extra passport pages and an expanded birth certificate.
  • Working at a library, he selected many names from books, and a full recitation took about 20 minutes at his wedding.