Name composed of 2,253 words: New Zealander wins legal battle to become Guinness Record holder

A New Zealander has officially become a Guinness World Record holder for the longest personal name, consisting of 2,253 words, the Daily Mail writes.

In March 1990, Laurence Watkins decided to change his name to include over 2,000 middle names and applied to the District Court to register his record. While the court accepted his application, it was rejected by the Registrar General. Watkins did not give up and appealed to the Supreme Court of New Zealand, which ruled in his favor.

Even though they rewarded Laurence they did change two laws to prevent others from doing the same.

“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 said speaking to Guinness World Records.