The longest place name in the world is a mouthful—and we dare you to try to pronounce it
This Is the World’s Longest Place Name—And It Has 168 Letters
Updated on Mar. 21, 2025
Every world traveler knows the struggles of trying to fit into a foreign country’s culture. You need to remember the customs, practice appropriate etiquette and (perhaps the most challenging) learn to speak like a local. Though no one expects you to master the grammar and spelling of a new language, they do appreciate it when you make an effort when interacting with others. But if you visit Thailand, there’s one word that no local will give you a hard time about mispronouncing. In fact, they often shorten it themselves—with 168 letters, it’s the longest place name in the world.
Ready? It is this:
krungthepmahanakhonamonrattanakosinmahintharaayuthayamahadilok
phopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasathanamonpim
anawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit
So why do we even care about the longest place name in the world or place names in general? “Place names are important because they are part of our cultural heritage,” says Joanna M. Kepka, PhD, a professor of cultural and political geography at Honors College at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. “They often speak of our shared history, of what happened in the place.”
Here’s what to know about the longest place name in the world, including how it got its name, why place names are important and the controversy over its Guinness World Record.
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What is the longest place name in the world?
The full ceremonial name of the city of Bangkok, Thailand, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest place name in the world. In case you didn’t memorize it the first time around—and who could blame you?—here it is:
krungthepmahanakhonamonrattanakosinmahintharaayuthayamahadilok
phopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasathanamonpim
anawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit
For those who are counting along, that’s a whopping 168 letters. And no, that’s not a typo: A capital letter doesn’t belong at the beginning of this capital city because the Thai language is all lowercase.
There’s also an official “short” version of the name—krungthephphramahanakhon bowonratanakosin mahintharayuthaya mahadilokphiphobnovpharad radchataniburirom udomsantisug—with only 111 letters. Even this pared-down version ranks as the longest city name in the world!
That’s still a bit too long for license plates and official documents, so in Thailand, the capital city is known as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. Locals shorten the name even more in conversation to Krung Thep. In 2022, the Thai government announced that it’s acceptable for those using the Roman alphabet to refer to the capital as either Krung Thep Maha Nakon or Bangkok.
What does the name mean?
The 168-letter name for Bangkok is rooted in the holy Pali and Sanskrit languages used in Buddhist and Hindu texts, and translates to “the City of Gods, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable City (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm.” Meanwhile, the city’s shortened name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, means “great city of angels” in Thai. It’s unclear how the city got its full ceremonial name.
So where did Bangkok come from? According to one interpretation, it comes from a name that dates back to the time before it was a city, when was known as the village or district (bang) of wild plums (makok).
Place names also often form part of our collective memory and display a culture’s attachment to a particular place or territory. “In other words, a place name does not simply identify a particular spot on a map/Earth,” Kepka says. “It ascribes qualities and meanings attached to this place, which are important to the individuals/groups who identify with—or are attached to—this place.”
While Kepka says having the longest place name in the world isn’t necessarily a coveted position, it’s not without its perks. “Cities compete for all sorts of geographical or location-specific things—the longest name, the highest point, the lowest point, the most-difficult-to-pronounce name—but it certainly offers some recognition,” she says.
What’s the controversy over the longest place name?
If you were to do a quick search for the longest place name in the world, there’s a good chance you’d come across a source that says it’s a picturesque, 1,001-foot-tall hill on the North Island of New Zealand. The name? This:
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaunga
horonukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
So why does this registered historical site—often shortened to Te Taumata or Taumata Hill—with an 85-letter name get credit for a record that actually belongs to the official name of Bangkok? It’s not like the capital of Thailand is an under-the-radar location.
The confusion has to do with how the full ceremonial name of Bangkok is typically written. It appears as 21 separate words: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.
But according to Guinness World Records, its “most scholarly transliteration” is all one word, making it 168 letters long. By that definition, it’s the longest place name in the world, bumping the New Zealand hill out of the top spot.
What’s bizarre is that Bangkok’s official name won the Guinness World Record almost 60 years ago, yet most sources still claim that the famous hill in New Zealand is the longest place name in the world. Kylie Galloway, a spokesperson for Guinness World Records North America, recently told Reader’s Digest that the hill nicknamed Te Taumata last held the world record for the longest place name in 1966; Bangkok has been the reigning record holder since 1967.
What are other long place names around the world?
The capital of Thailand may have the longest name, but there are plenty of other locations with lengthy monikers worth noting.
What is the longest town name in the world?
Consisting of 58 letters, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales is the longest town name in the world. The village, located on the coast of the Isle of Anglesey, is known as Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll or Llanfair PG for short and translates to “the Church of St. Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio near a red cave.”
But this is only the most recent name of the town. In medieval times, it was known as Pwllgwyngyll, meaning “the pool of the white hazels,” and changed multiple times after that.
Though it’s unclear precisely how Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch got its name, according to local lore and Sir John Morris-Jones—a Welsh grammarian, academic and poet who died in 1929—the town’s name was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerbwlltysiliogogo in the mid-1800s, until a tailor added 18 letters to the name of the village’s railway station in 1869 as part of a publicity stunt.
What is the longest city name in the world?
As we previously discussed, the longest city name is the ceremonial name for Bangkok, Thailand:
krungthepmahanakhonamonrattanakosinmahintharaayuthayamahadilok
phopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasathanamonpim
anawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.
In February 2022, the Office of the Royal Society of Thailand (ORST), which makes decisions regarding the Thai language, clarified that the capital city should be referred to throughout the world as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon rather than Bangkok. According to the Bangkok Post, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon has been the capital’s official nonceremonial name since 2001.
Technically, the ORST’s official ruling comes down to punctuation: Now, its formal name for international purposes is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok) instead of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon; Bangkok. “By using the parentheses, this punctuation mark emphasizes the importance of the name in front of the parentheses,” Santi Phakidkham, the deputy secretary general of the ORST, told the New York Times in 2022.
What is the longest street name in the world?
There’s no official record or consensus on the longest street name in the world, but Dwudziestego Pierwszego Praskiego Pułku Piechoty imienia Dzieci Warszawy in Poland is at least a contender. Coming in at 72 characters (including spaces), it was the longest street name we could find and is located in the Polish city of Płock, about a two-hour drive northwest of Warsaw. Roughly translated, it means “Twenty-First Praga Infantry Regiment named after the Children of Warsaw.”
For sticklers who don’t count multiword names, the longest street name in the world may be Andorijidoridaraemihansumbau, which has a total of 28 letters and is located in Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon County, in the Gangwon Province of South Korea. It translates to “a road so rocky and rough that even squirrels can’t breathe enough.”
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this piece on the longest place name in the world, Elizabeth Yuko tapped her experience as a longtime journalist covering news, culture, history and travel. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Joanna M. Kepka, PhD, professor of cultural and political geography at Honors College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; email interview, Oct. 30, 2024
- Kylie Galloway, senior public relations executive, Americas for Guinness World Records North America; email interview, Nov. 1, 2024
- New Zealand Gazetteer: “Taumatawhakatangihangakōauauotamateapōkaiwhenuakitānatahu”
- The Longest Place Name: “The Longest Place Name in the World”
- Guinness World Records: “Exclusive: a peek into the Guinness World Records photography archives”
- Guinness World Records: “Longest place name”
- The San Diego Union-Tribune: “It’s still Bangkok: Thailand quells talk of name change”
- Britannica: “Bangkok”
- North Wales Live: “The ‘real’ story behind the Welsh village with the longest place name in Europe”
- The Saturday Evening Post: “In a Word: Cities of the World”
- Office of the Royal Society: “กรุงเทพมหานคร” ใช้ได้ทั้ง Krung Thep Maha Nakhon และ Bangkok”
- The New York Times: “(Bangkok): A Push for Parentheses Miffs Thais (Who Have Bigger Problems)”
- Bangkok Post: “Bangkok name change announcement causes confusion”
- El País: “Felipe de Neve, desconocido en España, padre de Los Ángeles entre los estadounidenses”
- Portal Płock: “Radna: Mieszkańcy nie chcą nowej nazwy ulicy. Jest za długa”
- Hani.com.kr. “The longest place name in Korea: Andoljijidoldaraemihanshumbau’”
