Long names are common in many cultures around the world. It reflects the traditions and social structure. In the South India, people regularly add their village and Father’s name to their name. In Arab countries, the name of his father, grandfather and then his clan, is often added to a person’s name. The same is also seen in Western countries. Well -known examples include the full name of singer Billie Eilish, “Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell”. The full name of the big painter Pablo Picasso is even longer: “Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de Los Remedios Cipriano de la Santissima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.” But these long names are nothing compared to the name of the person who has the Guinness World Record for the longest name in the world. His name is Lawrence Watkins. This is Laurence Watkins of New Zealand. Well, it was earlier until he changed his name via Deed poll in 1990. His official name now contains 2 253 words and he now has the record for the longest personal name. pic.twitter.com/ziaooe2olr – Guinness World Records (@GWR) October 7, 2025 Why such a long name? Born in New Zealand, Lawrence legally changed his name in March 1990 and added more than 2000 middle names. This unique change earned him the Guinness World Records title for the longest individual name. There are a total of 2 253 unique letters in his name. He spoke to Guinness World Records and said: “I’ve always been fascinated by the strange and unique records people make, and I wanted to be part of them. I read the Guinness World Records book from cover to cover to see if there was a record that I could break. It was not easy to change your name. The process was long and difficult, especially at a time when computers were not widely used. Lawrence has spent several hundred dollars to have the full list of all its names. His application was initially approved by the District Court, but later rejected by the Registrar -General. Lawrence did not give up and appealed to the New Zealand High Court, where the decision came into his favor. Shortly after this case, two New Zealand laws were amended so that no one could do it in the future. Initially, his name counted 2,310 letters, but later, under the New Guinness World Records, it was revised to 2.253. How did they choose so many names? According to Guinness World Records, Lawrence worked in a library in the city at the time. He chose the names from books and with the advice of his colleagues. “My favorite name is ‘AZ2000’, which means my names are from A to Z, and I have 2000 names,” she explained. Lawrence says that when he tells people how many names he has, they can’t believe it. Their biggest challenge comes from government departments as their full names do not appear on any identity card or form.
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