Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr.
Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff in 1964
Born	c. (1914-08-04)4 August 1914 Bergedorf, Germany
Died	24 October 1997(1997-10-24) (aged 83) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	German
Occupation	Typesetter
Partner(s)	Constance
Children	Hubert Blaine Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff Jr. Timothy Wayne Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff
Parent(s)	Elvis Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff

Hubert Blaine Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff Sr. was a German-born American typesetter. He became famous for having the longest personal name ever used. His full name was so long that it often caused confusion!

Hubert's name had 27 parts. It started with 26 given names, one for each letter of the English alphabet in order. After these came one very long last name. People often spelled his name differently, and there were many mistakes.

One of the longest and most trusted versions of his name, with a 666-letter last name, looked like this:

Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegel­steinhausen­bergerdorff­welche­vor­altern­waren­gewissenhaft­schafers­wessen­schafe­waren­wohl­gepflege­und­sorgfaltigkeit­beschutzen­vor­angreifen­durch­ihr­raubgierig­feinde­welche­vor­altern­zwolfhundert­tausend­jahres­voran­die­erscheinen­von­der­erste­erdemensch­der­raumschiff­genacht­mit­tungstein­und­sieben­iridium­elektrisch­motors­gebrauch­licht­als­sein­ursprung­von­kraft­gestart­sein­lange­fahrt­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum­auf­der­suchen­nachbarschaft­der­stern­welche­gehabt­bewohnbar­planeten­kreise­drehen­sich­und­wohin­der­neue­rasse­von­verstandig­menschlichkeit­konnte­fortpflanzen­und­sich­erfreuen­an­lebenslanglich­freude­und­ruhe­mit­nicht­ein­furcht­vor­angreifen­vor­anderer­intelligent­geschopfs­von­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum Sr.

The Guinness World Records also checked his name. They confirmed a slightly different version:

Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausen­bergerdorff­welche­vor­altern­waren­gewissenhaft­schafers­wessen­schafe­waren­wohl­gepflege­und­sorgfaltigkeit­beschutzen­von­angreifen­durch­ihr­raubgierig­feinde­welche­vor­altern­zwolf­tausend­jahres­voran­die­erscheinen­van­der­erste­erdemensch­der­raumschiff­gebrauch­licht­als­sein­ursprung­von­kraft­gestart­sein­lange­fahrt­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum­auf­der­suchen­ach­die­stern­welche­gehabt­bewohnbar­planeten­kreise­drehen­sich­und­wohin­der­neu­rasse­von­verstandig­menschlichkeit­konnte­fortpflanzen­und­sich­erfreuen­an­lebenslanglich­freude­und­ruhe­mit­nicht­ein­furcht­vor­angreifen­von­anderer­intelligent­geschopfs­von­hinzwischen­sternartig­raum.

Life and Times of Hubert

Hubert was born in Bergedorf, Germany. This area is now part of Hamburg. Later, he moved to the United States and lived in Philadelphia. He worked as a typesetter, someone who arranges type for printing.

His Name in the Spotlight

Hubert's name first got attention in 1938. It appeared in the Philadelphia phone book. It also showed up in a court case. People joked that the case was settled because no one could say his name!

Hubert had a son, Hubert Blaine Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff Jr., born in 1952. His son could say the long last name by the time he was three years old.

Even computers had trouble with his name! In 1964, an IBM 7074 computer at an insurance company couldn't process his policy. It had to be handled by hand. Hubert told a reporter, "When somebody calls my name, I don't have any trouble finding out who they mean." He added, "I don't like being part of the common herd."

Guinness World Records

Between 1975 and 1985, Hubert was in the Guinness Book of World Records. He held the record for the longest personal name. He even appeared on TV shows based on the Guinness Book.

For a while, the book used a shorter, 35-letter version of his name. Later, it said he had shortened his name even more. By the 1990s, the "longest name" category was removed. But since 2021, his name is back in the book under "Longest personal name."

Images for kids

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  Wolfe­schlegel­stein­hausen­berger­dorff in 1964

See also

• Llanfair­pwll­gwyn­gyll­go­ger­y­chwyrn­drobwll­llantysilio­gogo­goch, a very long place name in Wales.
• Taumata­whakatangi­hangakoauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­kitanatahu, a long Māori name for a hill in New Zealand.
• John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, a children's song about a person with a long name.