THE world’s longest name is championed by one New Zealand man whose entire title spans over 2,000 words and takes 20 minutes to say.
Laurence Watkins, for short, fought tooth and nail to earn the prestigious mouthful – and even left laws changed in the wake of his determination.
The eager moniker-lover changed his name in March 1990 – enduring a gruelling legal battle to achieve the jawdropping feat.
His Guinness World Record awarded title holds 2,253 unique middle names – spanning six whole pages when written down.
His request was accepted by the District Court – before it was rejected by the Registrar General.
But the staunch record-hunter took his case to the High Court in New Zealand, before judges eventually sided with the applicant.
They rewarded the committed man with his new title – but in the process, they changed two laws in order to prevent others from trying the same in the future.
Watkins told Guinness World Records: “I was always fascinated by the quirky unusual records that some people went for and I really wanted to be part of that scene.
“I read the 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.”
Extraordinary images shows a proud Watkins holding up six sheets of paper stuck together – all of which contain parts of his eye-watering name.
Watkins worked at the cit library when he decided to lengthen his name.
So he picked up a various selection of books recommended by co-workers before pulling names from the pages.
His favourite word in his record-breaking name is AZ200.
And this is because it references his global feat – more than 2,000 names from A to Z.
The entire long and winding list covers a range of cultures, spanning across Europe, Polynesia, Asia, the Middle East and others.
At his wedding, it took a breathtaking 20 minutes to read out his title in front of astonished loved ones.
Today, his biggest challenge remains facing government departments.
His full name brings up various problems whenever he tries to fit it into identification cards.
But the gobsmacking name makes Watkins proud – and he remains the only person in the world to achieve such a title.
