Born in 1965 as Laurence Gregory Watkins. But this New Zealander, now 60 years old and already retired, decided to increase his name in court in 1992, adding… 2250 words.
The objective was, at the time, to be able to see the (extensive) name in the Guinness Book of Records.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the quirky and unusual records that some people were trying to break, and I really wanted to be part of that scene. I read the Guinness Book of World Records from cover to cover to see if there was any record I could beat, and the only one I had a chance of beating was adding more names than the record holder.”he said, after seeing the title confirmed.
The process to achieve the record was, however, long and complex. Initially, the request to change the name was accepted by a District Court but later rejected by the Registrar, prompting Laurence to appeal to the High Court of New Zealand. He got what he wanted, but the case led to changes to two laws in the country shortly afterwards to prevent new cases like his.
As Laurence worked in a library, he chose the names in books and through suggestions from co-workers.
Now, Watkins is an Australian citizen and lives in Sydney. For everyday use shorten the name to Laurence Alon Aloy Watkins, but your full name fills seven pages of your birth certificate and six extra pages on your original passport.
“With digital passports, the new one just shows my shorter name and says I have 2,249 others on the notes page. But if I travel, I still have to carry a copy of my birth certificate in case someone asks to see it,” he told CNN.
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