The longest place name in common “world record” lists is a hill in New Zealand called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (often shortened to Taumata). Some sources, however, argue that the full ceremonial name of Bangkok, Thailand, is even longer when fully transliterated from Thai.

Quick Scoop

  • The New Zealand hill’s Māori name runs to 85 letters in its usual form and is widely cited as the longest place name in everyday use.
  • It roughly means “the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his flute to his loved one.”
  • The full ceremonial name of Bangkok, starting with Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin… , reaches around 168–169 letters in one scholarly transliteration and is recognized by Guinness as the longest place name in that transliterated form.

Why there’s debate

  • Guinness World Records treats Bangkok’s full ceremonial name as the longest place name when written out in a continuous romanized string, because Thai normally doesn’t use spaces between words.
  • Many geography and trivia sources still highlight the New Zealand hill as “the longest place name in the world” because it is an officially registered local name used for a specific small geographic feature and is not a ceremonial description of a major city.

Other famously long names

  • A Welsh village on Anglesey, “Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch,” is another popular contender and often appears in lists as one of the top three longest place names.
  • Lists of long place names usually group these three together—Bangkok’s ceremonial name, the New Zealand hill, and the Welsh village—as the classic “tongue‑twister” locations for trivia fans.

Mini forum-style takeaway

If you’re asking “what’s the longest place name in the world?”, the fun answer people trade in forums is the New Zealand hill Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, but the record-book sticklers will counter with Bangkok’s gigantic ceremonial name.

TL;DR:

  • Casual trivia: New Zealand hill (85 letters) usually wins.
  • Record‑book angle: Bangkok’s full ceremonial name is longer in transliteration.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.