Most people breeze through introductions with just a first and last name, but for Laurence Watkins, a former security guard from Auckland, New Zealand, stating his full name is an epic undertaking — it contains 2,253 individual names and takes nearly 20 minutes to say.

Watkins’ journey to holding the Guinness World Record for the longest personal name started from his childhood obsession with extraordinary feats and record holders. Fascinated by shows like Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and the Guinness World Records book, he realised that without any particular talent, his best chance at fame was to create something truly unique — an extraordinarily long name.
 

Originally born Laurence Gregory Watkins, he spent months compiling a list of names inspired by a wide range of sources — from ancient Latin and Old English words to famous personalities and even Māori terms, despite having no direct cultural links to the indigenous people of New Zealand. His name also includes whimsical elements, such as “Basil Brush”, a nod to a beloved British puppet fox, and “Gaylord”, inspired by the 1984 Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord.

When Watkins submitted his legal application to change his name in 1990, the Auckland District Court initially approved it, but the Registrar General challenged the decision. Determined, Watkins fought the matter in the High Court and eventually won, allowing him to officially hold the longest personal name.

His full name spans six typed pages, a detail that made traditional typewriters struggle and caused some typos along the way. At his wedding in 1991, his marriage celebrant even pre-recorded his name to spare everyone the effort of saying it aloud.

Now living in Sydney as an Australian citizen, Watkins shortens his name for daily life but retains the full version on official documents. His birth certificate fills seven pages, and his original passport required extra pages just to fit his lengthy name.
 

Despite the complexity and occasional confusion his name causes, Watkins embraces his uniqueness and is proud of the record he set. With new regulations in New Zealand making such lengthy names impossible to replicate, his legacy as the holder of the world’s longest personal name is firmly secured.